Naruto: Lord of Konoha
by Andoriol
Summary: When Naruto wrote up that summoning scroll, he'd only wanted a better summon, he didn't expect training to be a Ninja-Overlord. Orochimaru and Madara just might have some competition for world domination. Strong!Naruto, NOT Super!Naruto
1. Start of the Descent

A.N.) This popped into my head and I just had to give it a shot. The only definite pairing at the moment in Naruto x Hinata, I'll see how everything else develops.

Normal speech: "Blah"

Thoughts: _'Blah'_

Mental Communication: _"Blah"_

Minor Scene Change: ---

Major Scene Change/Timeskip:

* * *

On with the fic!

**Prologue**

'_How the hell do I get myself into these kinds of things?!'_

This was the thought running through Naruto's head.

Well, at least it would've been if Naruto had been thinking had been thinking anything even remotely resembling a coherent thought at the moment.

As it was, the blonde was fighting for his life amongst a horde of creatures.

Swords, clubs and spears. Arrows, rocks, and fire. The creatures were throwing everything they had at the young ninja, and while Naruto was doing well, slaying at lest ten for every blow they landed, there was a **lot **of the blasted things.

Even by the standards of 'Spam-Shadow-Clones-Uzumaki', Naruto was heavily outnumbered.

He could've been killing twenty of them for every hit they got in, but it still wouldn't have been enough.

It had started out innocently enough, for Naruto at least.

All he'd wanted to do was try out those sealing techniques that Ero-sennin's had started to teach him by making his own, new, summoning contract. Naruto had purchased a blank scroll while Jiraiya was off peeping and tried to write up his own scroll.

It… hadn't exactly gone as planned…

He'd written up the contract pretty good as far as he could tell, his summons would be his minions and would have to do his bidding, and all he'd have to do was command them and use some chakra to summon them! There wouldn't be nothing like what happened with Gamabunta with these guys!

Now, Jiraiya hadn't taught Naruto a whole lot by this point, they were only two months into their three year training trip and they'd started working on sealing only a week ago.

And Naruto was… well… Naruto.

The blonde had signed the contract, and without really thinking much at all, had tried to make it work.

Needless to say, if he got out of this alive, he wasn't going to try that shit again.

**If** being the operative word in this case.

He'd signed in blood, he'd done the handsigns, he'd bit his thumb, he'd molded the chakra… but something had just been _wrong_.

And yet he'd still slapped his hand to the ground. He berated himself for that, he'd just assumed it was different because it was _his_ contract instead of Ero-sennin's and that if it _was _wrong, that he could just _make _it work by sheer force of will.

The puff of smoke had been larger than normal, making it impossible to see his surroundings.

When it'd cleared, he'd found himself in a massive arena, a dome of stone over his head instead of sky, high walls lining the oval of dirt and separating him from the stands.

There'd been a single one of those small creatures dusting the floor that he'd appeared right beside. It barely stood as high as Naruto's shoulders, all scraggly muscle and leathery skin, bald head with giant ears and eerie yellow eyes.

Naruto, being the future Hokage, greatest ninja alive, and just generally awesome in every way, had assessed the situation properly.

After the brief 'scream-like-a-girl-in-fear-and-point-stupidly-at-the-thing' phase of course. That was just procedure.

In Naruto's defense, the creature had done the exact same thing, and moments later, when many more of the creatures had flooded into the arena, Naruto had reacted beautifully.

He'd thrown the first thing into the oncoming horde of others and created a slew of shadow clones as he got some distance.

The problem was that things had degenerated into a constant, lethal brawl after that and Naruto had yet to find a way to change the situation.

He'd gone up the walls, but the creatures had poured out of the doors to the stands and Naruto couldn't get through. He'd tried going through the main gates that most of the things were coming out of, only to be swarmed or pushed back by a veritable wall of fireballs. He hardly had any breathing room in the fight at all, almost all the available space was taken up by the little creatures or his own clones, Naruto could barely get the time and space to summon more Shadow clones, let alone use any of his better moves.

And he was running out of everything.

Kunai, shuriken, wire, explosive tags, even his otherwise inexhaustible reserves of stamina were dwindling under the constant pressure of battle.

Things were not looking good.

At least from his perspective.

From someone else's, things were looking better every second!

Specifically, the oldest of the creatures that Naruto was slaughtering by the dozens.

A wizened, old, gray creature known as Gnarl.

---

Gnarl was watching the brawl magically to avoid getting dragged into the fight accidently, and he could barely contain his (evil) glee.

Their old master, while gleefully despicable in almost every way without over-indulging in a particular sin or cruelty, had been quite adamant about not extending his life through what he called 'unnatural means.' Well, he'd died, (Of old age! Fancy that) and a party of heroes _had _tried to take the now master-less Netherworld by storm.

While the heavily fortified minions had fought the heroes off, they had not been able to before some of the spellstones, artifacts, and trophies had been stolen.

This had saddened Gnarl, but evil always found a way. The Minions had done their best to keep the Netherworld in tip top shape, ready for the next Overlord and keeping away those pesky heroes and pretenders for the title.

And now, suddenly, it seemed Evil (note the capital letter, Minions didn't believe in fate, they believed in capital-letter Evil) had sent the Minions a new Overlord.

The kid was still young, so he could still be potentially molded into a new, EVIL Overlord, but he showed _**so **_much potential!

He was holding his own against most of the Minions in the main spire! And it wasn't by himself, he was using an _army _of himself! It was amazing! Gnarl had **never **seen magic like this. And the boy was at least as fast as most of the minions and seemed amazingly creative and quick-witted as far as the ancient Minion could tell.

Yes, this boy could be the new Overlord. A new kind of Overlord even! Not one of those slow and ponderous behemoths swinging around a massive hammer as he stood in heavy armor.

No! He could be quick! He could dart around the battlefield with a lethal blade, stabbing his enemies in the back like a better smelling green! Coordinating with his Minions, using them to force his enemies to him, where he would throw his own army of himself at them! He could use more battlefield tactics than any Overlord before him!

Gnarl couldn't decide whether he was going to drool at the thought of so much potential evil, or cry in sadistic joy.

But, the wizened Minion was pragmatic over everything else, except Evil of course. He had to see if this boy was _true _Overlord material, or just some henchman in an Overlords disguise, or worse… a _hero_.

Gnarl shuddered at the thought.

Thankfully, it looked like the boy was starting to tire, after the fourth hour of brawling and copying himself no less. The blonde boy had pulled back behind a circle of copies, breathing heavily.

Gnarl held up a claw and the tide of Minions paused, sensing the command even if they couldn't see it. Gnarl shuffled down the stairs and hallway with surprising speed, the sea of Minions parting before him as he shuffled across the blood-stained dirt of the arena.

He came to a stop several feet from the circle of orange-clad blondes, pleasantly surprised that the original seemed to have his breathing almost entirely under control already.

---

Naruto stared at the creature that had separated itself from the sea of the others. Most of them fell into one of four categories, brown-surprisingly-strong-for-their-size-bastards, green-smells-like-ass-and-are-kinda-ninja-bastards, red-butt-ugly-fire-throwing-bastards, and blue-scaly-heal-the-ones-he'd-already-killed-bastards.

This one, this one was different.

This one, was now gray-with-a-stupid-lamp-thingy-bastard.

At least in Naruto's mind that's what they were, he'd shorten the names when he insulted them to their faces.

The wait was getting unbearable on Naruto's end. When he'd fallen back behind his clones to catch his breath he'd expected the sea of creatures to swarm him, not just… stop.

It'd been a _really _tense minute before the gray-bastard had shown up. Naruto had briefly considered shouting out at the thing since it seemed to be the leader, but he'd reigned in the impulse. If this had kept up much longer he'd have had to draw on the Kyuubi's chakra, and he really didn't want to do that.

So, antagonizing this guy might not be a good idea.

Naruto waited, despite his normal energy, he _was _a ninja. He _could _wait, he just really hated it. The waiting was usually worse than the actual action, so why bother waiting were his thoughts on the matter.

The waiting _was_ hell.

The gray-bastard's arrival had put the tension on pause, but now things were getting worse, the urge to break the silence and _just get it over with_ was building. It was quickly becoming hard for the blonde to resist.

So, after almost two minutes of thunderous silence, Naruto gave in to the temptation.

"The hell you lookin' at shorty?"

Surprisingly, the gray-bastard _smiled_, it was _kinda_ creepy, "Why, I'm looking at someone who really shouldn't be here."

Naruto snorted, "Well 'scuse me, it's not like I meant to come to your smelly little hole."

The thing looked confused for a second before beaming at Naruto, and that was _really _creepy, "Really? How did you get here then? It should be impossible to just teleport in."

Naruto, while perfectly capable of keeping his furry prisoner a secret, still had a number of issues with keeping things that he didn't think would make people hate him secret.

"I tried to make a summoning contract, didn't work out like I expected is all."

"Summoning contract?"

"Yeah, tried to get me some proper subordinates instead of frogs, I mean, frogs are nice an all, but they don't always listen and I can never get the size I want."

The gray-bastard nodded thoughtfully, and, unbeknownst to Naruto, was cackling on the inside. It was too perfect! They'd dropped a potential Overlord right into his lap!

"Well it seems like this 'contract' of yours might've worked, we've been looking for a new master for some time now-"

"Then why the hell'd you attack me-ttebayo?"

The gray-bastard coughed awkwardly, "Well, you surprised us, and we've been doing our best to keep the unworthy out… think of it as a test if you will, to see if you were worth our time."

Naruto blinked, "Seriously?"

"Yes," the thing nodded, "You show plenty of potential, and while it wasn't the usual test it certainly was enough of a trial to count," Naruto didn't know it, but he was about to get bullshitted quite thoroughly, "But we still have the interview to do, so if you'd be kind enough to disperse these copies…" the thing waved at the Shadow Clones.

Now, Naruto was trusting and a little naïve, but he wasn't _that _stupid, "Only if you get the rest of these things out of here."

The thing nodded and waved a hand dismissively, the things then scampered out of the arena, some hitting, tripping, or otherwise hurting their companions as they left. All in all it was like a giant comedy routine, but they still left just the gray one and Naruto alone.

_Then _Naruto dispelled his clones.

---

Naruto dropped to the dirt floor, doing his best to get comfortable as Gnarl waddled over and did similar.

"You seriously considering me to be your new boss?"

"Of course! You passed the first test didn't you?" Gnarl was starting to get an idea on how to manipulate this kid, just the barest beginnings, but he'd see how it worked, "But we still have to do the interview to be sure, now, what's your name?"

---

Honestly, the kid was too trusting, but that could be fixed. Really, he had a bunch of problems, but every one could be fixed with a little effort.

Gnarl had almost cried tears of Evil joy when he'd discovered that the boys' goal was to be this 'Hokage' thing, which sounded suspiciously like 'Kinda-Nice-Overlord-with-Ninja'. Desire for power was good, and it seemed to be an overriding goal to the boy, Naruto.

It seemed the boy had had a rough life, even by Overlord standards. The cheerfulness was a mask more complete than almost any that Gnarl had seen, and the boy latched onto anyone that showed him the slightest kindness.

It made him all the easier to manipulate.

Gnarl had barely had to tell him anything aside from his name, that Naruto might be taking command of the Minions _and _the Netherworld, that he might learn magic if he was accepted, and that the Minions weren't exactly 'Good Guys'.

Sadly, he seemed to have a fixation on protecting his friends, and Gnarl had dealt with enough Overlords and their fixations to know one when he saw it. The boy would always be all nice and goody-goody to his friends, no matter what Gnarl tried to do.

But the old Minion just might be able to get the blonde to make a distinction between peasants, subordinates, henchmen, and friends.

With some luck of course.

But there was _something_ the blonde wasn't telling him.

Gnarl was listening to the boy rant about some Sasuke-teme as he tried to puzzle it out,

Even though the boy himself was abhorrently cheerful, there was a layer of despair beneath that (something Gnarl planned to capitalize on to speed the boys' descent to darkness).

Yet… ever since Gnarl had entered the Arena, he'd felt this unsettling tingle in the pit of his stomach, the kind of feeling you get when you eat a particularly resilient beetle whole and it keeps crawling around for a while.

Or you found yourself near a source of great **EVIL** (note the capitalization and bold letters).

Now, Evil might refer to what the Minions considered fate, or a powerful and efficient Overlord. EVIL usually referred to a particularly mighty and/or vile Overlord.

**EVIL **only referred to creatures and beings whose speech could only be properly represented by **all bold letters** (all caps optional), like Dark Gods, vampiric dragons, one specific Overlord (who was so powerful that he took over the Abyss over the dead body of one of the aforementioned Dark Gods), particularly nasty rock giants, and Demon Gods.

So why in the Abyss was Gnarl getting that feeling from such a _nice _(something Gnarl intended to fix) kid?

"-then Sasuke-teme stabbed me with Chidori, so I _really _had to cut loose-!"

That got Gnarl's attention, so he interrupted the boy, "Wait… didn't you say that this… Chidori thing, was a spear of lightning?" That hadn't been exactly what the boy had said, but it was close enough, how'd the boy survive that?

"Uh, well… yeah…?"

"Then how did you survive?"

"Uh… well, I…" Naruto was ready to panic, _he _knew what he'd done, but… he _really _didn't want to tell Gnarl about _that_!

Gnarl noticed the panic rising in the boy, well, that wouldn't do. No keeping secrets from _him_, at least not yet, so, time to manipulate a bit, "It's a secret isn't it…?"

"Y-Yeah… a big one…"

"Well, I'm sorry, but the Minions couldn't accept you unless you told us… but…" Gnarl made a show of darting his eyes back and forth.

Naruto noticed, "But what?"

"Well… I'm not supposed to tell applicants this, but there's nothing left that could keep you out of the position _except_ for keeping such a big secret from us…"

Naruto bit his lip, and looked away, rubbing the back of his neck with a hand. Would it be worth it to tell them? Would they hate him for it? Would they treat him like almost every person in Konohagakure?

Gnarl saw the emotions play across the boys face and was about to give it another push just to be sure when Naruto spoke up, "Promise not to hate me…?"

His voice was so soft and terrified that Gnarl had to swallow the bile rising in his throat, reminding himself that the kid showed too much potential to just be tossed aside, and this was likely what made Naruto so easy to manipulate in the first place…

So, swallowing his instinctive reaction, Gnarl feigned kindness and sympathy, "I promise Naruto, there isn't anything you could say that would make me hate you." Man, that was a load of bull, but apparently the boy bought it.

"… you remember when I told you about the Fourth Hokage…?"

"You said he sacrificed himself to save your village right?" Again Gnarl forced down his instinctive revulsion, a _hero_.

"Yeah… he sacrificed himself to save Konoha from… from the Kyuubi…" now that Naruto was started, he couldn't stop, "But even though they say he killed the Kyuubi, he didn't. He couldn't. He had to seal it away, and he sealed it away into a kid. A newborn kid… me… I… I…" Naruto grabbed the bottom of his jacket and shirt, lifting them up to reveal his stomach as he molded some chakra, making the seal on his stomach show, "I contain the Kyuubi no Kitsune."

Naruto waited, eyes scrunched closed and fully prepared for the disgust, the fear, the rage. He expected Gnarl to hate him like all the others, to say he wasn't worthy of leading the Minions, to kick him out…

But it didn't come.

Naruto carefully cracked open an eye to find the strange creature _beaming_at him, tears running out of its eyes.

Gnarl opened his arms to the blonde, "Welcome home Sire!"

Gnarl didn't realize it, but in that single, emotional gesture, he had earned Naruto's undying loyalty.

The aged Minion had taken a second to process the information.

The boy that had fallen into their lap, the same one that showed so much Overlord potential, had **the **Nine-tails, **the **Nine-tailed Demon Fox, (a Demon _God_ for Evils sake!) sealed in his stomach! And unless Gnarl missed his mark, that seal on the boys' stomach was modified old magic, the kind that would let him draw on the Demons power.

That meant Naruto had an effectively _infinite _source of both mana _and _that chakra stuff! Fast, agile, able to clone himself, and infinite power? This kid was the perfect Overlord!

So it was with tears of evil joy that Gnarl had, quite literally, welcomed Naruto with open arms to the Evil family.

* * *

"So if I wear this stuff I'll be faster and stronger when I'm not?"

'_Yes Sire, but do please remember that you don't have to speak aloud to communicate with me… we don't want people thinking you're crazy and talking to yourself now do we?'_

"Yeah… Oh, I-I mean…" Naruto paused, focusing his thoughts through his slightly modified headband, _'I mean, yeah, I get it.'_

Gnarl had figured out how to send him back, it hadn't really been all that hard really, just do the summoning jutsu a second time. He'd just made sure that the runes that normally let him communicate with his Overlord were inscribed on the inside of Naruto's headband before sending him back.

It seemed that Naruto could use the jutsu to either summon Minions or summon himself into the Netherworld. It just depended on how he did it.

In the week since Naruto had began his Overlord training, Gnarl had gotten him to summon about twenty Minions to his world (Gnarl had determined that it was a parallel world, much like the Abyss, only with less Evil) and Gnarl had been using the Minions to steal books and spy on this new world.

He couldn't very well advise an Overlord if he didn't know what he was talking about now could he?

Giblet had just finished the burnt-orange bracers and shin-guards that the blonde Ninja-Overlord was now wearing over his new, slightly larger, black jumpsuit.

Gnarl didn't really mind the orange, as long as it wasn't _neon_-orange.

He'd gotten Giblet to weight down the Masters' armor for now, with Naruto's teach nearby much of the time, there was little chance he would be in enough danger to _need _to remove them. So he had _plenty_ of time to build his muscles.

'_Now Sire, let's run through the fighting stances on that scroll one more time…'_

'_So you're _completely_ sure I shouldn't tell Ero-Sennin?'_

'_Yes Sire, I'm sure, he might get jealous of someone else teaching you and stop giving you the teaching that he does.'_

That and Gnarl had a sneaking suspicion that the white haired pervert wouldn't take too kindly to Gnarl trying to turn the boy to Evil.

'_Sire!? Have you __**never **__heard of tact?!' _Gnarl stared stupidly through the magical link as his new Overlord, for lack of better words, made an ass of himself.

Calling a small time noblewoman fat to her face was usually a one way ticket to an execution, the only reason it hadn't been was that Jiraiya had stepped up and instantly made an even bigger ass of himself and sent Naruto out.

Jiraiya could get away with stuff like that, Naruto couldn't.

'_Tact? What's that?'_

Gnarl briefly considered the thought that Naruto was joking, then discarded it, it was a sadly honest question.

'_I mean… could you try to be more subtle Sire…? While stuff like that may be true…' _And it was, the woman **was **larger than a small barn, _'Saying it like that isn't the best thing sometimes…'_

'_Bah, I don't like lying to peoples faces, why not just come out and say it?'_

An idea passed through Gnarls mind, _'… a __**true **__Hokage needs to be subtle Sire.'_

'… _really? Why?'_

By Evil, it worked! _'Well Sire, pretend for a moment that you're Hokage, and that two different villages have declared war on you. Now, if you fought them both at the same time, many of your… friends,' _Gnarl was **still** getting used to using that as bait for the boy, _'Would die in the war…'_

Naruto had to suppress a growl at that thought.

'_But, if you were __**subtle**__, and tricked them into fighting each other, you could destroy the winner while they were weakened, and the chances of your… friends, dying would drop significantly.' _Gnarl paused for dramatic effect before he added the kicker, _'And while you are quite good at making blunt and in your face likable… more people would be your friends if you had a bit of tact.'_

'… _so… Gnarl… how, how do I be subtle…?'_

---

Naruto couldn't stop grinning, the bandits they'd been hired to catch had be caught, Naruto and Jiraiya had been paid double, the farmers and merchants had promised discounts for life to Naruto, and a good chunk of the bandits had actually been absorbed into the Nobleman's guard.

And the blonde hadn't even had to throw a single punch. It'd just taken a couple transformations and some talking.

Gnarl had walked him through the manipulation of all the parties involved, explaining why Naruto was saying and doing what he was.

Naruto didn't think he'd be able to do something like that on his own just yet, but with Gnarl's help, he'd learn how!

* * *

"Man… this thing is pretty heavy…"

'_That's the point Sire, until a sword worthy of a Hokage is finished, you should practice with this weighted one.'_

"I know, I know, it'll help me be faster and stronger and stuff, I'm just surprised it's this heavy…" Naruto stood in the center of the clearing, he'd told Jiraiya that he was going out here to practice his chakra control and stuff, which he was, but he was mostly here to work with his new sword.

It was essentially a really big katana, almost as long as he was tall, being larger than average in every respect except for the hilt, which was custom made for Naruto.

Naruto gave the blade a swing, it was hard to do so with what miniscule skill he had, and even with his greater than average strength, it was hard to _swing_ the sword and not heave it around.

"Hey, Gnarl, you sure this thing is made right?" Naruto trusted Gnarl implicitly, but he didn't know Giblet, the forge-master Minion, very well.

'_I'm almost positive Sire, Giblet learns quite fast for a Minion. That sword wouldn't do in an actual fight, but we're quite certain that it's balanced exactly like similarly sized weapons in your world.'_

"Hm," Naruto gripped the hilt with both hands, examining the blade in his hands.

It was made of a polished lead, and Giblet had done something to keep it from glinting in the light. From edge to back, it was almost as wide as his palm, and almost as thick from side to side as two fingers, the blade even curved slightly towards the end. The hilt was specially designed and molded for Naruto and the blade, making it comfortable to use with either one hand or two.

Now, Naruto might not be a swordsmith or anything, but he knew _that_ took skill.

'_Sire…?'_

"Yes Gnarl?"

'_We should start training Sire.'_

"Meh, you're right Gnarl," Naruto pulled a leaf out of his pocket, setting the thing over his headband and using his chakra to hold the thing in place.

Hey, he'd told Jiraiya he was going to practice his chakra control _and other stuff_, he just hadn't said what the other stuff was.

The blonde still didn't like lying, but he'd learned that to be subtle like a good Hokage should be, he sometimes had to… bend the truth a bit, or leave out certain bits of information…

He usually did that by talking loudly and energetically about something else, which was what he'd done before when he was uncomfortable, to draw peoples attention away from what he didn't want to talk about. He just hadn't done it consciously.

Now... now he knew what he was doing.

So, he hadn't lied to Jiraiya, earlier, he'd just told him what he wanted to hear.

Walking on water while floating a leaf over your forehead _was_ working on chakra control, _so_ _what_ if he was slowly learning how to use a sword at the same time?

* * *

Naruto had expected this to happen, just… not this **soon**.

Jiraiya _was _one of the legendary Sannin, regardless of how he acted or goofed around; the guy _was _an amazing ninja when he put his mind to it. Naruto had always had an inkling that Jiraiya wasn't just enjoying women when he went to the red-light districts.

Even if he'd only recently confirmed it.

Still, Naruto had expected it to take a bit longer before Jiraiya confronted him about all his new things.

He'd explained away the outfit change and bits of armor as what they were, a conscious decision to be a serious ninja and take his training more seriously. He'd gotten the black jumpsuit, burnt orange forearm bracers and shinguards (both of which were really training weights that just doubled as armor) on his own money.

Naruto had also been able to explain away the sizable sword that he'd gotten two weeks ago, saying he wanted to learn how to use one and had gotten himself one by emptying out gama-chan.

Jiraiya had let it pass then, but when the old hermit had discovered Naruto running through a reasonably advanced kata on his own, it hadn't been long before he confronted the blonde.

"Naruto…" somehow the perverted old man was able to growl Naruto's name in a way that was particularly menacing. It was actually kinda scary with the large man standing over him while he was tied into a chair and completely stripped of his weapons.

Still, Naruto had faced down Orochimaru, and that was one freaky son-uva-bitch.

"The hell's this for-ttebayo?!" Naruto knew _exactly_ what this was about, but Jiraiya didn't expect him to, so, he'd play along.

"Where did you get sword training Naruto?"

'_Yeah, thought it was that…' _The blonde made a show of huffing and looking to the side, "I didn't get no sword training."

The older man scowled, the look on his face easily conveying his displeasure.

Naruto huffed again, the plan Gnarl had come up with was to play the whole _'You never train me so I'm going to train myself!'_ card (which was mostly true) while **implying** _'I'm a stupid kid that doesn't know any better! If you don't guide me I'll learn horrible forbidden techniques on my own!' _(Which was only kinda true)

"… what do you care? You don't train me… I gotta figure stuff out on my own…"

Jiraiya's face softened a bit, but he held onto his serious look and didn't fall back to his 'perverted idiot' mask, "Look, Naruto… you didn't just make that up, I know, I can tell. That was the beginnings of Kage-ryū, not a kid flailing around with a sword…" the older man paused before he continued in a gruff voice, "I'm just worried about you kid, I don't want you learning anything too dangerous."

Hook, line, and sinker.

Naruto pouted some, but 'relented', "I… I learned it from a book I… stole." Technically, summons were considered 'a part' of the ninja that summoned them. So, since _his_ summoned Minions had stolen the scrolls and books on Kage-ryū, Naruto was just _really _stretching the truth.

"Naruto…" but said blonde wasn't done.

"If you just trained me more I wouldn't have to do this stuff!" he exploded at his teacher, "You barely teach me anything! The only teacher worse than you that I've had is Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto huffed and looked away, grumbling the last part under his breath and _knowing _Jiraiya would hear it, "Bet even Orochimaru woulda been a better teacher…"

Playing the poor pitiful kid was Gnarl's idea, implying that he was considering joining Orochimaru because he didn't feel loved was something Naruto came up with on the spot.

And boy did it work.

---

"Alright, what have you been working on?"

Naruto settled more comfortably on his log as he thought about that, "Mostly on my taijutsu, kenjutsu*, and chakra control… every time I improve my chakra control, everything else becomes easier, so I think I should improve that before I learn any more jutsu. It'd just make learning new things easier…"

He seriously thought about the question for another moment before continuing, "But… I've been trying to use what sealing you taught me to improve my equipment and stuff… and, well… I just… I don't know enough…" He looked up at the white-haired pervert as pitifully as he could manage.

Jiraiya did his best to hold back the wince, while that did somewhat contradict what he had planned for Naruto in the beginning, the kids logic was sound. So… what really was the harm in teaching the kid some seals in his off time…?

"Okay… what do you remember from last time?"

* * *

Gnarl sat in the growing library in the master's quarters and just _stared_.

Even though he knew, just _knew,_ that none of the four blondes in front of him were the original, it was almost impossible to tell the difference.

The only difference Gnarl could find was that none of _them_ triggered Gnarls very finely tuned **EVIL **senses.

Gnarl had always been smarter and more sensitive to magical energies than any other Minion, he wouldn't have lived long enough to get his position if he didn't.

But in all his centuries as Minion Master, he had _never _seen someone with as much potential as Naruto.

They had only recently discovered that the boys' clones could _learn _for him, and Gnarl had immediately set several of them out to studying through the Netherworlds library, even as the original was in his world doing whatever he needed to do.

One of the blondes spoke up, "Hey, Gnarl… why are you having me, us, study history?"

"Sire… I've already explained this once…"

"Yeah, but I want to be sure I get it," Gnarl was happy that he'd broken the boy of the habit of not asking when he didn't understand what a teacher was saying… but that didn't make it any less annoying to have to say the same thing three times when he was _certain _Naruto had learned it by the second.

"Sire, people in power have made major mistakes in the past and they've made brilliant decisions. But we can't train you how to make the better decisions except by studying history… the dates and names aren't that important, but what they did in their situations _**is**_."

"So… if I read about history and stuff… I'll learn from their mistakes?"

"Yes Sire, that is _exactly_ it. By studying history you'll learn to recognize situations and know what's worked best in those situations before. The same way you'd look over your own training to learn from your own mistakes."

"Mm… kay, I think I get it-ttebayo…" the spokesman of the clones said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin for a moment with his eyes scrunched up in thought.

Then his eyes snapped open, "Wait… Gnarl, you think this clone training would work with learning how to use my sword too?"

The Minion Master blinked at the sudden topic change, but adapted quickly, "I-I don't know Sire… it might… it depends on whether you get the reflexes your clones start to develop or not…"

"Hm, well… just got to try it out then huh?" The blond set his book in his lap before putting his hands into a cross seal, creating a clone that almost immediately dispelled, "There, the real me knows to create some clones to try that now."

And with that, the blonde clone began to read its book once again.

Gnarl shook his head stupidly, _'So much potential…'_

"Neh, Gnarl, why am I studying history again?"

* * *

Naruto guzzled down his bottle of water even as he sat on top of the river near his and Jiraiya's camp. He'd just finished a long training sequence with his weighted Ōdachi and he was a little tired.

Now, with his blade stuck to his back with chakra almost unconsciously, he pondered something that hadn't come up more than once in the four months since he'd gone to the Netherworld the first time.

_"Hey, Gnarl."_

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the link as the Minion Master hurried to respond, _"Yes Sire?"_

"_Why hasn't Giblet forged me a new Ōdachi yet? We've already learned all the seals that Jiraiya is willing to teach me that could help…"_

"_Ah… well… there's a bit of a problem Sire…"_

Naruto's brow wrinkled, _"What kind of problem?"_

The elder Minion hesitated, _"Well… you remember how we Minions enhance the Overlord's equipment?"_

At this, Naruto scowled even as he sent an affirmative thought. Yeah, he knew how they did it, they literally sacrificed Minions by the hundreds to pour their life-force into the new equipment and make it stronger than any man-made piece. Supposedly, that combined with chakra conductive minerals, magical runes, and chakra seals would make an ungodly powerful piece of equipment…

Supposedly.

But that was all moot, because Naruto was still uneasy about _sacrificing _his Minions. Despite Gnarl's continuous assertions that the Minions weren't just willing, but _happy _to sacrifice themselves to always be near him, it still made Naruto uneasy.

He'd accepted it, but just barely.

_"Well Sire… it seems that the equipment that Giblet has in mind…" _The Minion's mental voice became hesitant and apologetic, _"Kinda needs more life-force than we can spare without compromising the Netherworlds defenses…"_

Now Naruto really scowled, _"So you need more life-force to make my new equipment."_

"_Yes Sire."_

"_And I'm not going to slaughter the animals required to gather it."_

The Minion's wince was almost audible over the link, _"That would be the problem Sire."_

The Ninja-Overlord-in-training downed the last of his water and ground his teeth together, _"Isn't there __**any **__other way to gather life-force?! I mean, c'mon! There's little things dying all around me all the time! Like bugs and crap! Why can't I get __**their **__life force?!"_

"_Well… Sire… you could… it's just…"_

"_Just what-ttebayo?"_

"_Well… since they don't have enough life-force to leave self-sustaining energies, you'd have to quiet your own in order to collect them…"_

It took Naruto a moment to puzzle through what Gnarl had said, _"So… to absorb their dying energy, I have to be quiet?"_

"_Kinda… you have to quiet everything about yourself, you have to sit __**completely **__still and draw in the fading life-energies around you… it's not something most Overlords bother with…"_

Naruto 'Hmmm'ed' at this, it sounded like a good idea honestly. He didn't plan on using that stuff in combat, just adding to the life-force pool for his Minions, _"So… how would I learn how to do this?"_

"_Well… we do have a stalagmite…"_

_---_

"Gah! You guys are crazy-ttebayo!"

"I'm sorry Sire, but it _is _the best way to learn how to be completely still…"

The Ninja-Overlord-in-training huffed, trying to sit _perfectly still_ on a flat board balanced _**very **_carefully on a stalagmite was insane!

Gnarl noticed his Overlords hesitance. While the boy had collected some life-force from the occasional bandit and enemy ninja that he'd faced, it was never going to be enough to fuel the army he needed.

And when Gnarl had suggested that the boy slaughter a village to get some extra life-force, he'd surprised the old Minion by pointing out quite logically, "Slaughtering any number of people is a quick way to attract attention, something we don't want to do just yet… that and I'd never do something like that anyways."

Still, they needed that extra life-force.

So, a challenge was in order, "Well, at this rate you might be able to learn how to draw in life-force in six months or so, but don't get your hopes up Sire, it is exceedingly difficult to do safely."

The scowl on the blondes face was all the answer Gnarl needed.

* * *

"Neh, ero-sennin?"

"What is it brat?"

Naruto didn't look up from the rasengan he held between his hands as he walked, "I just thought to ask… how do you move through the dirt like you did yesterday? The whole 'burrowing without using your hands' thing."

Jiraiya blinked, "You want to learn how to do that?"

Naruto beamed at the old pervert, "Yep, it looks like it'd be really useful!"

While the Sannin snorted, there was a smile on his face, "Alright kid, first I gotta teach you a more basic earth technique, then we'll work up to moving underground."

The blonde nodded vigorously, even though he'd been able to get Ero-sennin to teach him a good bit about seals and help with refine his taijutsu and kenjutsu, whenever he'd tried to get the old man to teach him more ninjutsu the white-haired pervert had said no.

Basically, the pervert had said 'You wanted to work on your chakra control and hand-seals before you learned more jutsu, so that's what you're going to do. Until _**I **_think you're good enough at those, I'm not going to teach you any more ninjutsu.'

Naruto hated to admit it, but he'd worked himself into that corner on his own.

And now, it looked like he was ready to learn more!

He actually bounced along beside the old man as he showed Naruto the hand-seals to his first earth technique.

* * *

Eight months.

That was how long it'd been since Naruto had left Konohagakure.

Twenty-three weeks.

That was how long he'd been a Ninja-Overlord-in-training.

Two months.

This was how long he'd been sending clones to the Netherworld to learn how to draw on the life-force around him.

And he'd just mastered it.

If jumping up and shouting to the heavens wouldn't have ruined his concentration, Naruto would've done it.

As it was, he was sitting cross-legged in his tent and drawing on the natural energies around him. The blonde could _feel_ the energy flowing into him, then flowing _through_ him, into his headband and back to the Netherworld.

The energy seemed to want to change his body, but it never got a chance before being absorbed by the Minion hives.

Now it was only a matter of time before he got his new equipment.

Naruto let himself grin in the dark.

* * *

Naruto lounged in his stone throne, propping his head up with a hand even as his other hand played across the engravings in the arms of the throne.

He'd just gotten large enough to pull this off in the large chair.

The Minions had been quite happy to redecorate the 'throne room' with both spiral and kitsune motifs, something that Naruto had to admit looked good.

The arms of his throne were the heads of grinning foxes and the back resembled the Kyuubi's head, its teeth framing Naruto's head. And behind the throne, nine streams of lava poured out of thin air to snake their way down and form a crescent shaped pool of magma that halfway encircled the Ninja-Overlord.

Frankly, it was pretty badass.

The pillars that supported the magnificent hall had spiral designs engraved into them and the stone floors had been redone to swoop up from the main floor to the raised area that the throne rested on.

It was quite nice really, but Naruto had gotten used to it some time ago.

Now, now he was _waiting_. Just, waiting, and it was… difficult, to say the least.

It'd been almost ten months since he'd left Konohagakure to train with Jiraiya and his suit of armor was **finally **getting done.

Naruto was honestly overjoyed.

He'd been spending the first few hours each night in a meditative trance, absorbing the life-force around him to increase the amount available to him. Giblet had finally collected enough extra to safely forge up a suit of armor and sword for him.

It didn't bother Naruto very much anymore that he would be sacrificing his Minions by the thousands tonight to forge his armor. Gnarl had finally beat it into Naruto's head that the Minions were almost as expendable as his shadow clones.

Naruto loved the Minions, they were funny, loyal, and accepted him with open arms, Kyuubi or not.

But they were expendable.

It had been a hard concept to wrap his mind around.

Almost as hard as learning how to _wait_.

Both of his teachers, Gnarl _and _Jiraiya, had been trying him _patience_. And Naruto had a feeling if he'd had either of them singularly, it'd have taken him much longer to learn.

He'd learned it, but he didn't enjoy it, nor did he have to practice it much yet.

If he and Jiraiya were traveling, Naruto would wake up and make about fifty clones to study tactics, history, science, and Minion control in the Netherworld under Gnarl. He'd then run through his morning workout as another clone made breakfast, stretches and all.

As he and Jiraiya walked, he'd practice whatever jutsu Jiraiya had taught him recently even as he kept his sword and several leaves stuck to various places on his body. At lunch break, he'd run through his Ōdachi katas even as his clones made lunch for them, preferably on a body of water or vertical surface while still floating his leaves.

Then at dinner he'd run through _all_ of his katas before sitting down to practice either moving through the dirt or the rasengan (which he _still_ couldn't use one handed in a real fight), sometimes he'd even spar with Jiraiya before going to bed, being sure to gather life-force for at least two hours before dispelling his clones and falling asleep.

Things didn't change much if Jiraiya decided to stop somewhere.

He'd start the days the same, sending some clones to the Netherworld to study before going off to train for a while. Usually, he'd spend his mornings fighting off either a swarm of his own clones, or fighting one supercharged clone at a time. Once again, preferably over water and/or while floating leaves over random parts of his body.

That was always fun, and he often got lunch with a number of bruises on various places on his body but a grin on his face.

It was after that he'd sometimes tag along with Jiraiya. He'd gotten the old pervert to actually admit that he acted as perverted as he did mostly as a cover, and now the Sannin was showing Naruto some of the tricks to managing and creating a spy network.

Naruto loved those days.

But he'd learned that when Jiraiya said 'You can't come with me today' that he meant, 'You _**can't **_come with me today, sorry.'

On those days he'd usually practice some more on his katas and push himself physically even as he had a slew of clones practice the techniques he knew and an even greater number work on his chakra control.

The original Naruto usually didn't spend a whole lot of time in the Netherworld, usually letting clones deal with the going ons and learning.

Today though, he sat in his mighty throne, and waited.

He'd left a clone back in his world with the others, so if Jiraiya needed him the man could just talk to the clones, which would never say they were clones or that they were real. Neither up the uncomfortable truth, nor telling his sensei a lie.

"Mastah!"

Naruto blinked, his attention coming to the group of Minions now standing before his throne.

Minions with his armor.

Naruto _grinned_.

"Giblet, you've got my armor and sword?"

"Yes Mastah!" the Minions cross between an accent and a lisp was always amusing to Naruto, "Armors done and swords just finishing cooling!"

Naruto stood, almost bouncing down to the small gathering of Minions, "Great! Let's get that thing on then-ttebayo!"

---

"I like," Naruto chuckled happily, "I _really_ like," the Ninja-Overlord-in-training turned this way and that, examining himself in the mirror his Minions had brought.

In preparation for his new set of armor, he'd bought black versions of the standard ninja sandals that covered his toes and a pair of black, fingerless gloves. He'd also gotten several pairs of long black pants and the best damn jacket he'd ever seen. Black sleeves and shoulders, a thick stripe of black down the front and dark orange covering his sides and lower back. It even had a thin chain-mail on the inside!

It was awesome!

Now though, he was wearing his armor over the ensemble, and he _loved _it.

He looked for all the world like a particularly badass combination between a samurai and a ninja (at least in his mind).

It resembled Do-maru, the lighter armor of Samurai foot-soldiers, but only selective pieces of it.

While he kept the cuirass, shoulder plates, gauntlets, and greaves, the armor didn't cover his upper arms or thighs and he just went without the helmet entirely. The black of his clothes contrasted wonderfully with the burnt orange plates of magically enhanced steel, all of which had black spiral and/or tasteful black stripes, adding camouflage to the armor.

The armor even fused halfway to the clothing, becoming just as much a part of the outfit as the jacket itself.

With that and the plate of his first headband set on the black strip of cloth tied around his forehead, Naruto felt like a serious ninja for the first time in his life. It was exciting.

And kinda scary…

'_Have to ask Jiraiya if that was normal…' _he thought as he fingered the collar of his jacket.

'_Hmmm… something's missing…' _then it hit him, even though _his _necklace, the necklace of the first hokage, was safely tucked away under the armor and jacket, his neck was just a little too bare. He'd have to get a scarf or muffler to complete the look.

'_Jiraiya's goin' to flip-ttebayo!'_

* * *

Maelstrom cleaved through the final clone, going completely through the chakra construct before the two halves could explode.

Taking a deep breath, Naruto spun his sword twice before settling it onto his back diagonally without a thought.

He turned to Jiraiya and bowed low, his breathing slightly labored as he waited for his review. It'd been a year since they'd left Konohagakure and Naruto was giving Ero-Sennin the works. Every trick he knew, every move he'd learned, the best tactics he could muster.

After Naruto had come back from the Netherworld with not only a new set of armor, but also a matte-black version of his old Ōdachi, Jiraiya had drawn the line.

The aged pervert had taken Naruto well outside of town and given him an ultimatum.

Either tell Jiraiya where he was getting all of these things and extra training, or Jiraiya dumped him right here.

Naruto took it as the serious threat it'd been, and after a brief consultation with Gnarl, had told his perverted sensei much, though not all, that had transpired 'behind closed doors'.

He told Jiraiya about the contract he'd made, how it'd worked out accidentally, how he'd been using Minions to grab him books and scrolls to train himself from, how the Minions were the ones to make him his new equipment, how he'd used shadow clones to train in the Netherworld. And he'd introduced Jiraiya to Gnarl.

The old man and even older Minion had talked to each other warily for a while, dueling with words and wits, Naruto had wisely kept his mouth shut as they did.

The two had found that they actually had a couple things in common, they were both perverts, they both were a lot cleverer than they let on, and they both had a hint of a sadistic streak (Gnarl more so than Jiraiya).

It had taken an entire day for the two of them to get comfortable enough with each other to hash out a new training schedule for Naruto.

Jiraiya would often leave a shadow clone of his own to watch over Naruto's training when the boy wasn't accompanying him during his more serious 'research'. The Pervert-clone would correct Naruto's stances, his form, and his chakra usage in ways that Gnarl just didn't have the experience or knowledge to.

Today was special though, today Jiraiya himself had taken Naruto out to the bottom of a small rocky ravine.

He'd asked Ero-sennin what they were doing, loudly and repeatedly, and despite the older mans insistence that he just wanted to see how far his student had come, the blonde just _knew_ something else was going on.

And now, bowed before his sensei, he waited for the shit to hit the fan.

Jiraiya nodded and stood, "Alright, looks like you're far enough."

'_I __**knew **__it-ttebayo!' _Naruto straightened, giving his back a stretch, "Far enough for what?"

"To start to seriously draw on the Kyuubi's chakra," Jiraiya wasn't just using his, _'I'm actually a pretty good teacher when I put my mind to it'_ voice, he was using his _'Don't forget, I'm arguably as strong and intelligent as Orochimaru'_ voice. That meant he was pretty damn serious.

"Okay… I don't really get what the big deal is, but okay…" Naruto _tried,_ tried so hard, not to be disrespectful, but he couldn't help the small eye-roll at his sensei's serious tone.

Jiraiya scowled and Naruto's back instinctively stiffened, "Listen brat, we're talking about drawing on the power of the greatest evil this world has ever seen."

"_Well, the Kyuubi no Yoko isn't really Evil actually, it's a natural force with a certain degree of intelligence. It's not especially malicious, just completely without morals or regard for human life. The Kyuubi no Yoko is no more Evil than a hurricane or volcano… though I imagine it's quite irritated about being locked inside a child for as long as it has been…"_

Naruto paused, considering the Minion-masters words before his attention returned to his surroundings.

At Jiraiya's _look_, he relayed Gnarl's words.

The Toad-Sage really scowled at that, and while he didn't disagree, he did add, "That doesn't mean it isn't exceedingly dangerous."

"_Jiraiya is correct Sire, this should be approached with caution. It could be an amazing resource, but you should be careful in learning how to use it."_

With both of his sensei's agreeing on that, Naruto simply nodded, "Alright, what do we do?"

* * *

This… was kinda weird…

Naruto had been going through another growth spur, absurdly happy that between Jiraiya, Gnarl, Giblet, and himself, they'd developed a seal that would allow clothing and equipment to adjust to the owners' size. So there were no worries about his stuff getting too small for him, and since it was magical, he didn't have to worry about it wearing out.

But now, he was sitting in just his boxers, with two perverted old men staring at his stomach.

Even though he _**knew **_they didn't like boys, it was kinda creepy.

He was molding just enough chakra to make the seal on his stomach show so Gnarl and Jiraiya could examine it.

Apparently, the seal was very similar to old magic that Gnarl was quite familiar with, and Jiraiya was a seal master, what they were trying to figure out was how to modify the seal to make it easier and _safer_ for Naruto to draw out the Kyuubi's chakra.

Naruto only understood about half of what they were saying, the blonde just didn't know enough about sealing to keep up.

But he knew enough to be optimistic.

It seemed Gnarl knew of a similar attempt to bind a powerful source of evil, and said evil had been sealed into a full grown man rather than a newborn child. While the Kyuubi was several degrees of magnitude stronger, the seal drew on the powered of the sealed to fuel it, so that was a non-issue.

The seal had allowed the man to draw on the Evil beings power whenever he wanted and would automatically cut off as it reached levels that were dangerous to the seal bearer. The difference was that the older seal hadn't allowed a gradual absorption like Naruto's did. It had only been on or off, the man had gotten no side benefits like enlarged chakra capacity, fast healing, or slightly enhanced senses like Naruto did.

While this new seal would put a definite limit on the amount of Kyuubi's chakra Naruto could draw on, it would also make it easier and safer to draw on the Kyuubi's power.

And unless Naruto was misunderstanding the old men, placing it would involve loosening Shishou Fuuin slightly and very slightly increasing the constant amount of youki seeping into Naruto's system.

So this new seal would make it easier to draw on an effectively infinite source of power, make it safer to draw on said power, **and** make him permanently stronger, faster, and tougher? He just couldn't stop winning!

Suck on _that _Kyuubi.

* * *

Six months.

It'd been six months since they'd modified the Shishou Fuuin.

Naruto hadn't felt better in his life!

The modified seal did exactly as advertised, and aside from the particularly painful growth spurt that had accompanied the influx of youki, Naruto was doing great. His senses were sharper, he was stronger, faster, and from the looks he was getting, better looking too!

This was amazing!

Naruto was practically _flying _up the side of the cliff, even with weighted training armor, even with gravity seals that would try to counteract _every_ movement Naruto made as long as he pumped chakra through them, even without letting chakra enhance his speed and strength… he felt invincible!

He wasn't, and he knew it. Without actually using the Kyuubi's chakra, Jiraiya could still mop the floor with him.

He just _felt _invincible.

And he kinda liked it to be honest.

Gnarl had promised him when this began that Naruto would be respected, loved, and feared. And even though Naruto felt… different sometimes, Gnarl was delivering.

When he saved people for whatever reason, they often loved him and showered him with affection. When he went with Jiraiya to meet with Nobles, he was able to act with enough class to avoid making an ass of himself, but retain enough of his attitude to be _Naruto_, and it was earning him respect.

Even his _enemies _were starting to take notice! They'd scavenged a bingo book off an Iwa-nin he'd killed yesterday, the nin had been attacking a village they'd been hired to defend and hadn't gotten the meaning of 'You're outmatched, give up.'

But what was startling was near the back of the book, one of the newer entries was a very simple warning with a rough sketch beside it.

A rough sketch of _him_.

**Name:** Uzumaki Naruto (aka. The Demon Fox, The Samurai-Nin, The Demon Summoner, That-Guy-that-pulls-Armies-out-of-Nowhere)  
**Estimated Rank: ~**High B (Possible A)  
**Village Affiliation: **Konohagakure  
**Age: **Unknown (Teen)  
**Distinguishing Features: **Blonde hair, blue eyes, 'whisker marks' on cheeks, dark orange and black armor samurai armor, black scarf, carries a large Ōdachi, loud.  
**Known Jutsu: **Shadow Clone, Rasengan, Summoning Jutsu (Small Oni), Doton  
**Known Abilities:** B-rank stealth, B-rank kenjutsu, B-rank taijutsu, No known genjutsu, A-rank physical strength, B-rank speed, SS-rank chakra capacity, possible Jinchuuriki  
**Kekkai Genkai: **Unknown  
**Known Teammates: **Jiraiya the Sannin, Sharingan Kakashi (Former, Unconfirmed)  
**Reward: **150,000 Ryo

He was _in_ a Bingo Book! Seriously! Like, wanted and everything!

It was one of the best days of his life!

Naruto flipped over the edge of the cliff, landing _almost _soundlessly, _'Mm, gotta work on that…'_

With a quick check of the area around him to ensure privacy, Naruto sat down on the dirt and started gathering his chakra.

Gnarl had said he had a gift for the blonde, and Naruto wanted to find out what it was.

He ran through the hand-seals for the summoning, and with a clap of his hands, summoned himself to the segmented circle in the floor a ways in front of the platform his throne sat upon.

"Gnarl! I'm here!" Naruto practically bounced up the steps to his throne, throwing himself onto it and draping himself across even as he listened for the aged-Minion's response.

"Ah, Sire, it's good that you're home," the gray Minion shuffled into the dim light of the magma behind the chair, smiling… well… evilly at Naruto, though with no evil intent towards Naruto himself.

The blonde practically shot up in his seat, beaming at his servant, "You said you had somethin' for me-ttebayo! You're stuff's always cool! What is it? What is it?!"

It was at moments like this that the energetic kid that Naruto had always been shone through the slightly more serious face he showed the world.

Gnarl had gotten quite good at suppressing the shudder and revulsion that were his first reaction to such cheer and good will. Yech. Anymore, all Gnarl had to do was remind himself of the raw potential the boy showed. He'd matured some since he'd first come to the Netherworld, both emotionally and physically.

And what was better, in Gnarl's mind, the boy was more willing to kill than before. Quicker to draw the line between enemy and friend, and was starting to understand the difference between enemy, civilian, subordinate, and ally.

He was becoming less and less a _hero_, and more and more an _Overlord_.

And now for the final touch.

"I believe you are finally ready to learn magic m'lord."

* * *

Two years.

It'd been two years since Naruto had left Konohagakure with Jiraiya-san.

Naruto had spent much of his free time learning how to use both magic and chakra interchangeably. It was a lot harder than it sounded.

Not only did he have to learn how to use magic from scratch (which wasn't that hard thankfully since the Netherworld still had access to a several spellstones), but he also had to learn how to use them both at the same time (which _was_ hard).

He'd learned how to pump mana through his armor, making it even stronger. He'd figured out how to push mana into his sword, making Maelstrom's blade burn with orange flames. He'd even learned how to pour mana into his Minions, increasing their strength, speed, and toughness to high chunnin levels!

As it was, he had little talent for actual _spells_, he could throw a fireball and release a stream of fire from his hand… but that was about it. The tower had a few other spells available, but Naruto was having enough trouble integrating what he already had into his fighting style.

And it certainly had changed.

He didn't spam Shadow Clone as much as he used to, main because it split his magical power amongst the clones in addition to his chakra. It made the spells cast by each Naruto that much weaker. Instead, he summoned a slew of Minions and pumped them up with his Minion Spell.

Outside of combat, Naruto was always channeling chakra through his armor to keep the gravity seals working, mimicking the resistance of weights without actually increasing his mass. It was just as unconscious as holding Maelstrom to his back.

But _in_ combat, Naruto could easily pull his chakra in, increasing his strength and speed not only by removing his 'weights', but by actually increasing his strength and speed. It was almost as large of a jump in ability as Rock Lee had pulled in the Chunnin Exam Prelims. He used his massive reservoirs of chakra to fuel Body Flickers, Replacements, various Earth Jutsu, and the occasional Rasengan.

It was actually _really_ effective.

After Jiraiya had corrected Naruto's usage of the Replacement jutsu (which he'd been royally fucking up in several ways) Gnarl had immediately had the Ninja-Overlord-in-training practice it till it was nearly second nature. If he had just a half-seconds warning he could and would switch out with one of the four 'observational' clones he always made before a fight.

To be honest, Naruto hadn't really been hit by an enemy in almost three months.

Oh, they got close and all. He had to Replace himself a number of times, some times multiple times in a single fight!

But the look on peoples faces when the blonde they stabbed exploded into smoke was the best part.

Before he burst from the ground nearby and stabbed them of course, the shock on their faces then was usually even better!

It was like one big, particularly messy, prank.

Speaking of pranks…

Today, he was going to get to pull a prank to rival even his infamous 'Painting of the Hokage Monument'.

He was going to trick the Daimyo.

Oh, and paint the guy's palace pink just 'cause he could.

Jiraiya had decided to take Naruto to the Daimyo's court with some prodding from Gnarl under the pretense of getting some experience at dealing with upper-ranking nobles.

While this was true, unbeknownst to the two ninja, Gnarl was trying to gather some information on the system which his new master operated under to make it easier for him to guide his master in his (Hopefully hostile) takeover.

Naruto might not've been consciously aware of that, but on some level, he knew that's what this was. Information gathering on his own Daimyo.

The blonde had to work to keep the dark grin off his face.

This was going to be fun.

---

That… had not been fun.

Naruto was now of the firm belief that the Daimyo of Fire Country was an imbecilic twit unworthy of his title and status; amongst many more, less savory things.

Oh, the man was _nice_ enough, but he was just… argh!

The blonde had to bite back a scream of frustration as he tried to meditate on his guest bed in the Daimyo's palace.

Naruto had come with Jiraiya with every intention of impressing the Daimyo, it couldn't hurt to make connections with the man that could help him become Hokage after all.

The thing was, it had been _far_ too easy!

They'd entered the Daimyo's greeting chambers (which paled in comparison to the one Naruto had in the Netherworld) and waited for the Daimyo to arrive.

The snooty looking man had come in, all pomp and circumstance, his court and advisors tagging along behind him like the lap-dogs they were.

After they'd exchanged the usual pleasantries of _'I grovel at your feet mighty Daimyo even though I could destroy this whole place with my left pinky'_ and _'I accept your groveling my ninja servant and completely disregard the fact that you're more powerful individually that I can even understand'_, the ninja in the room had sat down from the non-ninja.

That hadn't been the problem, heck, Naruto wasn't naïve enough to think that it would have started any other way. It's just the way nobles operated. He didn't _like _it, but it wasn't smart to yell at your own lord.

No, the problem had come when the Daimyo had politely asked about Naruto.

Jiraiya had warned him that the Daimyo would do that, mostly because Jiraiya hadn't even told the man he'd taken on an apprentice, let alone give the Daimyo an inkling who Naruto was. As such, Naruto had to introduce himself.

So, he'd bowed enough to be properly respectful and did just that, "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, Daimyo-sama. I've been called a number of things, few as impressive as Jiraiya-sensei's, my personal favorite is 'The Orange Maelstrom," Naruto had given the group an amused, if subdued, smirk, "I've been training with Jiraiya-sensei for the last couple years so I could achieve my dream, and I believe I'm almost ready."

Naruto had paused before meeting the Daimyo's eyes, "I am going to be the next Hokage. **Believe it.**"

The Daimyo flipped open his fan and did the stupidest thing Naruto had seen in a _long _time.

"Oh ho! Then I'll be sure to support your case the next time it comes up!"

It wasn't that he'd given Naruto recognition and respect, that was actually pretty nice, it was that he was actually _serious_.

The man didn't know who Naruto was, all he knew about Naruto was that he was Jiraiya's student. **Nothing **else!

For all the Daimyo knew, Naruto could've been a failure of failures! He could've been the worst ninja on the planet! He could've easily been the worst possible leader for Konoha! There'd been no flash of recognition in the mans eyes at either Naruto's name or his most common title, so he couldn't claim to have heard good things about the boy.

And it infuriated Naruto that the Daimyo, _his _Daimyo, had been so quick to support someone he didn't even know as a candidate for Hokage.

Just because he'd made a nice introduction speech.

Naruto was disillusioned with the man right then and there, slapping his foxy grin into place and playing along instead of letting his disgust show, "Thank you Daimyo-sama."

The genin had played along with the playings back and forth of the court, mostly keeping his mouth shut and watching Ero-Sennin manipulate the nobles and attendants with surprising subtlety.

He still occasionally forgot that Jiraiya was smarter than he let people believe, and only peeped on women because he _wanted_ to.

But that was all beside the point.

The point was this: Uzumaki Naruto, was pissed off.

**Very **pissed off.

After the 'enlightening' session with the Daimyo and his court, Jiraiya had requested rooms for the two of them and Naruto actually had to turn down an offer of attendants to remove his armor. If he hadn't been so angry, he might've been flattered, but as it was he only saw the foolish kindness of someone who didn't know when he was being insulting.

It was as if he assumed Naruto couldn't get his own armor off!

Naruto had spent the past three hours struggling to stay still enough to absorb life-force. It'd taken him an entire hour longer than usual in his state of mind.

He finally called it quits, doing his best to push his anger away, it would do him no good to be furious at the idiot that had been born into his position… no good at all.

"_Gnarl."_

"_Yes Sire?"_

A foxy grin spread across Naruto's face, it seems the Minion had been waiting for Naruto to contact him, not that surprising considering the importance of the prior meeting.

"_We're going to need a proxy."_

"… _Sire?"_

Now Naruto scowled, he'd expected Gnarl to know what he was talking about, _"A proxy, a puppet, a replacement. Y'know, for the Daimyo."_

The older Minion's stunned silence spoke for itself.

"_C'mon! The current one is __**far**__ too easy to manipulate! Normally that'd be nice, but only if I could actually be here enough to manipulate him and keep other people from doing so-ttebayo! No way I'm letting someone like him lead **my **country!"_

Naruto huffed, crossing his arms in front of his chest as his face scrunched up in thought, _"Ideally I just shove him out of the way and absorb his position into the Hokage's, letting handpicked shinobi and samurai replace his advisors and such and rule in his stead while __**I **__run Konohagakure and deal with the other shinobi villages."_

Tilting his head up, Naruto's face smoothed some, his brow furrowed and his eyes closed as he contemplated the problem, _"However, that's… impractical-ttebayo… I would already have to be Hokage for that to work, and I'd need some major disaster or war to save the country from to make it stick. Otherwise I'd have riots not just in the civilian population, but also in the samurai and certain shinobi groups."_

His chin tucked to his chest now, _"Yes, that's out… but… now that I think about it, I have no way of viably replacing the man either… damnit."_

"… _Sire…?"_

Naruto huffed, _"Even if you __**could**__ find a suitable replacement for the man, there's no way we could legally insert them in the Daimyo's stead, even less of a way for someone to pretend to be the Daimyo for extended periods of time…"_

"_W-Well Sire… what about-?"_

"_A coup?" _Naruto cut his Minion off, _"I already considered that, but I'm not willing to have some idiot start a war just for me to save them from it. It's far too likely Konoha would get involved in fighting them off or trying to oust the pretender. I'm not willing to take the risk that my friends would be involved."_

Gnarl was… stunned, to say the least. He'd been _trying_ to get the new Overlord to actually think things through more and plan ahead ever since he'd started training the boy in the ways of Evil… but this was the first time he'd ever _really_ seen results.

Naruto huffed again, kicking his legs out and falling back onto the bed, pillowing his head with his hands, _"Just taking over is out, 'cause the people'd riot and the armies and shinobi would fight it. Replacing the guy with an imposter under my control isn't viable, we don't have anyone capable of such long term infiltration. I have no way of getting someone in line for the seat and then having the Daimyo 'die of natural causes'. And I'm unwilling to take the risks involved in puppeteering a coup from which to save the country…"_

The blonde scowled, _"That means I have no currently viable options for which to replace that twit…"_

There was a long pause before the fifteen-year old pouted and kicked his shoes off violently, _"Man this sucks!"_

Gnarl couldn't help the small smile that spread across his face from his spot in the Netherworld.

Despite the boys persistent… _heroic _(shudder) tendencies… he'd grown on Gnarl, and he didn't want the boy to change _too _much. That pout and huff brought to mind images of a smaller blonde in a neon orange jumpsuit, not the much larger Ninja-Overlord-in-training that lay on the bed now.

"_Well Sire, no matter how long it takes, we'll always find a way."_

The grin that spread across Naruto's face would've given the Kyuubi a run for its money, _"Yes Gnarl, yes we will."_

* * *

Jiraiya just _stared_ at his students armored back.

After meeting with the Daimyo of Fire Country, the boy had _insisted _that they swing by Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Kirigakure. Something Jiraiya had argued against fervently, _especially _Iwa, considering that the boy looked so much like the Yondaime.

The brats reply had been to transform into an attractive young woman with long blonde hair and amber eyes.

Jiraiya's response to _that_ had been to point out that even an actual _transformation_ instead of an illusion might fool people, but he'd have to keep it up 24-7.

Naruto had looked Jiraiya square in the eye and said, "When I maintain this all the way to Iwa, you'll show me how _you _usually get in."

Jiraiya hadn't really had a response to _that_. So he gave it a shot, the boy'd stopped boasting somewhere in around the first year of training. He no longer _had _to.

The boy had maintained his transformation all the way to Iwa, going so far as creating an entirely new person for his cover.

Jiraiya had buckled when they got to Iwa and taught the kid the Tóton jutsu, the Transparent Escape Technique.

He'd once told Orochimaru that it was no fun teaching a genius, and he still stuck by that now, it wasn't a bad experience actually teaching the kid, it was the feeling of terror afterwards.

Instead of training his body like he normally had, the boy had simply _been_ the girl that hung on Jiraiya's arm, tagging along with the Sannin and learning everything he could about the art of spying and infiltration.

The brat had made looking like a ditzy girl look easy, and consequently learned a number of Iwagakure's secrets simply by playing a 'dumb blonde slut'.

He wasn't sure whether or not to be surprised that the boy had developed his own contacts and the beginnings of his own spy network on the side.

After the surprisingly successful 'test run' in Iwa, Jiraiya had been only a bit hesitant to take the boy to the other two hidden villages.

Naruto hadn't liked Iwa, he'd told Jiraiya that to his face, "This place… it's horrible. There's so much despair…" his face, so like Minato's and yet not, had hardened, "When I'm Hokage, we'll either absorb them into Konoha… or wipe it from the face of the earth."

---

When they'd left Kiri, the Toad-Sage had innocently posed the question, "So, going to wipe this place off the map too?"

The boy had _beamed _at him, "Nah, these guys are just crazy, not evil or mean. I kinda liked 'em."

That had been unsettling, but the terror had only really started to set in when they'd left Kumogakure.

---

The look on the boys face as he'd dispelled his transformation that night in the woods was somber, "Jiraiya-sensei?"

He'd paused before sitting down beside his student, keeping his tone gentle, "Yeah kid?"

"I heard about something, but couldn't ask about it without breaking cover…" the blondes voice was uncharacteristically quiet as he stared at the recently lit fire, "You should know about it though, it was a secret, just…"

"What is it kid?"

"… about ten years ago, Kumo tried to kidnap a Hyuuga right…?"

Jiraiya had nodded slowly.

"… I've been thinking about that… it would've had to've been a main branch, 'cause they couldn't get the Byakuugan off a branch member… and the guys had been talking about a little girl…" Naruto's eyes had lifted from the fire to stare out into the darkness, "I only know one main branch Hyuuga that fits what little description they gave. I just want it confirmed."

It'd taken Jiraiya a couple seconds to sort through the bits of now old information in his head, but when he'd remembered the details, he spoke, "Yeah kid, ten years ago, the cloud ambassador to Konoha tried to kidnap Hyuuga Hinata."

The kids eyes had hardened and pulsed a dark red before he stood and set about making dinner, mumbling something under his breath that Jiraiya only just caught, "-gotta remember to be extra nice to'er when I get home-"

"Hey… Naruto."

"Mm?" the blonde had given Jiraiya a pleasantly curious look and he'd known the boy was reconstructing the happy mask he oftentimes wore.

"… what are you going to do?"

The smile he'd given Jiraiya was warm and genuine, if a bit sad, "I'm going to be real nice to Hinata until I can make it up to her. I was never really all that nice to her before, and I've got to make up for not paying attention after she got kidnapped like that. Probably scared the shy girl half to death."

"Naruto. You know what I mean."

It was in that moment, when the blonde _**grinned**_ at him, that Jiraiya was actually _scared_. Not _of _Naruto, but of what the boy could, and would likely _do_.

"Iwa gets a chance to join, Kumo doesn't."

---

And Jiraiya was bringing this teen, this monster with a smile, this boy with a tender heart, he was bringing him to Konoha.

Their home.

Something Gnarl had said to him one time as they'd watched Naruto train came to mind.

"_The Minions want nothing to do with a Hero, we will only follow a Ruler, a Lord over men. That boy… if he was just one of your 'ninjas', just another Kage, I might've sent him back and burned the summoning scroll, might've even killed him… but that boy…_

_Yes, he's a ninja. Yes, he will be your Hokage. But he will be more than just that._

_He will be the __**Overlord**__."_

Jiraiya hadn't known exactly what he'd meant then, but now…

Now he did, and it made even someone like him uneasy.

Oh, Konoha would probably rule the world by the time the kid passed away… but would it still be the Konoha that Jiraiya loved?

"Hey Ero-sennin! I can see the gates!"

It was the day of reckoning.

* * *

**End Notes: **I'm writing this because I want to, nothing more nothing less. Reviews make me want to write more, simple as that. Intelligent reviews make me want to write a lot. I don't know how long this is going to be, don't even know if I'm going to finish it, I'm at least going to give the next chapter a shot and see how it goes from there.

_Snuggles, Out._


	2. Finding His Light

**A.N-). **When I wrote this up at first, I only meant to make Sakura notice Naruto being more mature… her beginning to develop a crush on him wrote itself. I don't know whether I should nudge the story towards a threesome (Naruto will **not **get a ten girl harem under **any **circumstances) or not. I honestly don't _really _know what direction I want to take this story romance-wise… Naru/Hina is the _only _definite one, and I'll be trying to keep that as 'realistic' as I can. I need your input people otherwise I'm just totally going to wing it.

Also: I don't know how _evil _Naruto is going to be... _at all. _I'm mostly letting this thing write itself, but if you guys tell me whether you want him gray, dark, Evil, or **EVIL**, and I'll try to guide the story in that direction.

Oh, before I forget: **I NEED A BETA**

*ahem* Anyways, the prologue was just me seeing the Naruto/Overlord crossover part of the site and going 'Hey, that's a neat idea, why don't **I **give it a shot?' and promptly hurling up a mess onto the screen. I posted that thing about an hour after I finished it and gave it a once over for this site… I kinda need a beta.

If you're still with me here, just fair warning, Naruto doesn't do a whole lot of Overlording in this chapter, he will next chapter, but this is just a lot of him getting reacquainted with people. That and there's more stuff at the bottom.

* * *

Anyways, On with the fic!

**Chapter 1 - Arrival**

It was the day of reckoning.

He was home.

"It's been almost two and a half years hasn't it…" it wasn't really a question.

"Yeah… it has," the teen stopped in the middle of the street and took a deep breath.

The grin that spread across his face was contagious, and with barely contained joy, the blonde nearly flew up the side of a nearby building.

His black shoes were almost silent as they touched the top of the water tower, but he didn't stay that way long, because after another deep breath he shouted to the world with arms wide to embrace it, "I've missed this place!"

A small chuckle escaped the blonde as he stuffed his hands into his pockets, a serene smile settling across his face.

"I really did miss this place…" his blue eyes swept across the village… _his _village. His home- … was that…? "Heh… looks like they finally got around to carving Obaa-chan's face on the mountain…" the teen blinked, "…?!"

"You've grown a lot haven't you, Naruto," He turned towards the voice with a smile, even as the speaker raised a hand in greeting, "Yo."

"Kakashi-sensei! Hah! You haven't changed a bit!" The blonde hopped down from his perch, landing lightly beside his old teacher even as his face lit up, "Oh yeah! Got something for you," Naruto rummaged in the pack slung over his shoulder till he found the item he was looking for, presenting it to his former sensei.

The masked Jounin's eye widened, "Whaaaaa? Y-You… how-? But… but this is…"

Naruto placed the book in his sensei's hands, grinning unabashedly at the man, "Yep! Icha Icha Tactics, latest in the series," the grin became devious, "And it's a rare, signed, uncut version too."

When the older man let out a strangled sound of happiness, Naruto knew his job here was done.

---

"Right!" Naruto checked off the first box on his 'Things-to-do-upon-return-to-Konoha' list of the day, "Next stop, Ichiraku Ramen!"

It wasn't that Naruto didn't like the Minions cooking, it was actually quite delicious and probably a lot better for him… But c'mon, it was old man Teuchi's ramen and Naruto hadn't had it in years, literally!

The teenager took off down the street at a relatively slow pace, little more than a civilian jog.

Not too far behind him, Jiraiya spoke with Kakashi, "As promised, I'll leave him to your care…" the older man hesitated as they walked behind Naruto at a more sedate pace.

"You don't seem like the type to start him wearing armor… or using a sword…"

The Sannin frowned, "I didn't."

"Mm."

"Tomorrow… I'm going to give a full report to Tsunade at eight. You need to be there," Jiraiya didn't take his eyes off their student, "I'm going to be off gathering information by the end of this week at the latest. I'm afraid the Akatsuki are getting impatient… they might make their move soon-"

"GAH!"

The two older men's attention refocused on their blonde student a ways ahead of them, who'd just run into a certain pink-haired kunoichi.

"S-Sakura-chan…?"

"Eh?! Naruto?!"

---

Two Sannin, two apprentices, and one particularly lazy Jounin huddled together; arguably the five strongest ninja currently in the village, all in one spot.

Sakura did her best 'cute' impression, giving her old teammate a shy smile, "How do I look? Do I look more like a woman now…?"

Warning bells went off in Naruto's head, _'Danger-Danger! Tact required! Don't say something stupid! Neutral answer! Complimentary but true! Complimentary but true!' _

He gave his friend as smile, a _real _one, and said with conviction, "You look like a true Kunoichi."

Her jaw dropped slightly before immediately closing, the young woman huffed and looked away, fighting to keep the scowl on her face even as a light shade of pink tinted her cheeks, "You _still _don't get women do you?"

Naruto chuckled embarrassedly as he scratched the back of his neck, accidentally drawing attention to something Sakura hadn't noticed before.

"Hey… you've… you've gotten taller than me?!" Naruto blinked, doing a double-take of his own before grinning wildly.

"Yeah, looks like it," while the blonde amused himself by trying to count the number of centimeters he had on her, Sakura couldn't help but smile affectionately at him.

'_Naruto… you've gotten a lot stronger since the last time I saw you…'_ the girl didn't have to be a chakra sensor to _feel _the warmth of Naruto's chakra at this distance. Tsunade and her had bumped into him entirely on accident, and it was only within a couple feet of him that his surging field of chakra was readily obvious.

A loud BANG stopped any further conversation before it could start, "Naruto-nii-chan!"

Once the speaker was certain all attention was focused on him, he, became a she, "Sexy no jutsu!"

Jiraiya ogled, Sakura recoiled, Kakashi didn't care, Tsunade gave the boy turned girl a blank stare, and Naruto…?

Naruto smirked.

As the nude girl became a clothed boy once again with another loud BANG, Naruto almost chuckled, barely restraining himself as Konohamaru spoke, "Well how was that jutsu?! Had some real 'Oomph' to it didn't it?!"

Now he let himself chuckle softly and shake his head just a bit before giving the boy a serious look, "Konohamaru, I'm sorry, but I'm not a kid anymore. From now on, you shouldn't use that jutsu either."

As Naruto stepped closer to the now admonished boy, Sakura felt a peculiar warmth spreading through her chest, _'Naruto… you haven't just gotten older, you're more mature now too aren't you? It… it makes me feel a little sad. You've really become amazing in your time away haven't you…?'_

"Konohamaru," Naruto ruffled the boys' hair with a hand, "That kind of jutsu has its place… mostly as a joke. But," a mischievous grin spread across his formerly serious face, "It _would_ be pretty useful against someone like Ero-sennin. So don't go forgettin' it, 'kay?"

While Konohamaru smiled, Sakura scowled at Naruto without _really _meaning it, "Naruto! Don't encourage perverted jutsu like that!" the pink-haired kunoichi playfully smacked him in the back of the head, "Idiot."

The teen grinned, rubbing the not slightly sore spot on the back of his head, "Hey! I actually used that jutsu to take down a Hokage! It has its uses-ttebayo!"

Sakura went to Primary Anti-Pervert Response: Stage 1): Chamber the strike. Stage 2): **SAKRUAAA-PUUUUNCH!!!**

"IDIOT!!!"

Naruto's face met the dirt at a sizable fraction of the speed of sound.

Thankfully, Naruto's face won this particular confrontation.

Even as Konohamaru (quite intelligently) made a tactical retreat to a (questionably) safer position behind Kakashi, Sakura wasn't done.

The young woman dragged Naruto out of the ground by his new black scarf so she could berate him for his foolishness properly, "YOU ARE SUCH AN IDIOT! Only an imbecile like you would try to use that on a Kage!!!"

She began to shake the boy quite violently, "You just **had **to go and destroy that wonderful feeling of respect I had for you just now didn't you?! **GAH!!!**"

Kakashi held his hands up placatingly at his former student, "Hey, hey, Sakura… calm down…" as if on cue, the boy hiding behind him peeked around him, "You've got Konohamaru here terrified…"

Sakura huffed indignantly and let go of the blonde ninja, momentarily surprised when, instead of falling on his ass, he just straightened his legs. She barely had time to properly process the fact that not only was Naruto a half-head taller than she was, but that he'd recovered from her punch quickly enough to get his feet beneath him.

The reason she had so little time to process this was simple.

The Hokage was speaking.

"Right, the nostalgia ends now. Kakashi."

Said Jounin's book closed with a snap, "…it really has been a while hasn't it?" His students looked at him curiously even as _he_ gave them a reasonably serious look, "From now on, the two of you will come with me on team-related missions. It's different from before, it's no longer teacher and pupils. Starting today, we're equal Konoha shinobis."

"But… well," the masked man lifted a hand, a pair of very familiar bells dangling from it, "First, I'm a bit curious as to how you've developed. The rules are the same as when we first met," their smiles were tempered by… what? Seriousness? Dedication? Kakashi couldn't put a name to it.

But he liked that look, "If you don't come at me with the intent to kill, you will never succeed in getting these bells."

---

Training Area 3.

It really brought back memories.

"The rules are the same as before. It doesn't matter how, but you must get these bells away from me," he let said bells jingle to accentuate the remark, "You have till sunrise tomorrow."

"Man… I really missed this place," Naruto couldn't help the smile at the three training logs not far behind Kakashi.

"Yeah… me too," the was a bit of wistfulness in Sakura's tone as well, the girls eyes slowly sweeping over the forest beyond the logs.

"Ah… that's right," Kakashi picked up on the reason for their nostalgia even as he tore his eye away from the brand new book in his hand, "This is where you first trained isn't it?"

"Team 7…"

"The three man team…" Naruto scowled.

"… that time…" for a moment, Kakashi was just as caught up in the past as his students, "Sasuke was around too, wasn't he…?"

A melancholy silence settled over the team, Kakashi breaking out of the mood first to find Sakura curled up into a ball and sniffling while Naruto gripped his elbows so tightly that his fingers went white, scowling off into the distance.

'_Sasuke's name is a taboo word for these two huh…?'_

The Jounin shut his book with a snap, breaking the spell over the two teens, "Well then… shall we begin?"

Naruto grinned, his right hand going to grasp the hilt of Maelstrom where it rested over his left shoulder, "Heh… you're not going to try reading your book this time, eh Kakashi-sensei?" the blondes other hand came up into half of a ram seal.

There was the sound of leather flexing as Sakura tugged on the gloves meant to protect her hands from her own ridiculous strength, "You've already finished it?"

"No… I think I'll save it for later… besides, for some reason…" the book went back into his pouch, "I'm getting the feeling that I should take this a bit seriously too," the hitai-ate went up and out came the source of nightmares for many ninja.

The Sharingan eye, wielded by Copy-Cat-Kakashi.

For a long moment, one generation tried to stare the other down.

Then Kakashi deliberately let the bells make the slightest noise.

Naruto swung Maelstrom horizontally, a blade of compressed fire flying from the large sword and hurtling straight at Kakashi with a whisper of "Crescent Flame."

The older nin went low to the ground, dropping beneath the fire and loosing a trio of shuriken in the blondes direction.

Naruto hadn't been standing still.

He deflected the shuriken towards Kakshi with a spin of his sword even as he rushed behind his own flaming projectile. Naruto continued with his swing and spun on the ball of his foot, turning around fully just feet from Kakashi and thrusting Maelstrom at him in a single move, putting the full force of his spin behind the tip of his blade.

Kakashi blurred, his hand grabbing Naruto's blade hand and deflecting the sword into the dirt even as his other brought a kunai to the blondes neck.

Only to find another blade at his own.

'_He created a clone in his own shadow, which then replaced itself with the shuriken that came closest to me after he deflected them… clever… I might've missed it if it I didn't have the sharingan…' _

"Well…" the lazy copy-nin drawled, his voice not showing a hint of the pride he felt in his student, "It seems your haste hasn't changed."

They paused, both remembering the first time they'd had this test, with very similar results.

Then, Kakashi smiled, "Alright, start!"

And he was gone in a poof of smoke.

Sakura immediately went on the offensive, _'Behind…? Left…? Right…? Above…? No? Then it has to be-!' _The kunoichi raised her fist high above her head, "Below!"

Boom.

Naruto leapt away from the still-forming crater at his friends' feet, an eyebrow twitching in disbelief, his thoughts unknowingly mirroring those of his suddenly exposed senseis'.

'_Wha-What insane strength! Obaa-chan… you taught her more than medical jutsu didn't you-ttebayo?!'_

"Found you!"

Naruto briefly wondered if it was wrong to be turned on by that a woman that could probably kill him-

The Jounin leapt out of the crater, the bells jingling slightly as he did, "Right… guess I should do something on my end this time…"

-butthatcouldwaitOHSHIT!!!

---

Naruto hunkered beside a sitting Sakura, his slow and controlled breathing a counterpoint to the girls panting, "I already knew the sharingan was amazing, but…"

"It sucks being reminded of it?" Naruto supplied helpfully.

"Yeah… and his speed at hand-seals… it's too fast for me to follow…?" the girl glanced at the blonde beside her; he'd surprised her at almost every turn in the fight, showing greater depths of knowledge than she could've guessed.

He'd apparently been working on the basics a lot during the past two years.

Naruto had been serious, insightful, and able to include her in his plans on the fly. Sakura honestly wouldn't have been too surprised if he _could _follow Kakashi-sensei's seals.

Sadly though, "Same here, I'm just picking out some key ones, like tiger or snake."

While Sakura nodded to acknowledge the blondes statement, she scowled, "If we could somehow stop him from using both hands…"

"We'd be able to get our hands on those bells… **if **being the key word… Kakashi-sensei is almost as much a monster as ero-sennin or obaa-chan…" Naruto huffed even as he rested a hand against Maelstrom's matte-black blade while keeping an eye and ear out for their opponent.

But neither of them were anywhere near giving up, "But even Kakashi-sensei has to have a weak point…! If we think it over," the kunoichi looked over at her partner, whose eyes narrowed in thought. Sakura caught the slight shift in his body, the blonde wanted to assume an exaggerated thinking pose, but restrained himself because of the seriousness of the situation.

'_You really have grown, neh Naruto?'_

They were silent for a long moment before Naruto spoke up softly, "Neh, Sakura-chan… you've got better memory than me… remember the first fight between Kakashi-sensei and Zabuza of the Mist?"

Sakura's face briefly scrunched up in thought before she replied, "Yeah, the one where we were all together and Kakashi-sensei got caught in a Water Prison right?"

"Yeah, that one… tell me, when sensei had Zabuza beat, was Zabuza heavily injured?"

Another brief scowl, "… yeah, he'd just been hit with a Grand Vortex right?"

"Well… did he seem particularly tired as well…?"

Her large forehead furrowed in thought. Zabuza hadn't been breathing hard or anything as he lay against that tree, just… beat up… beat up _badly, _but… "Not really… but, what does that have to do with anything…?" Sakura _knew _Naruto was going somewhere with this, and she _knew _she should see it damnit… but she couldn't figure it out!

"What'd sensei do right after Haku-" he noted her confusion, "The fake hunter-nin, left?"

"He collapsed from ex-haus…tion…" Sakura's eyes went wide.

Naruto turned and _grinned _at her, sending pleasant little shivers up her spine.

"_Exactly_."

---

'_Those kids… they've certainly gotten better… I haven't gotten a single chance to read my new book even…'_ The Jounin sighed, _'I've got to be careful though… if I overuse the sharingan, I'll run out of stamina… that's my weakness… though… I'm surprised…'_

His sharingan eye narrowed, _'Naruto isn't using his clones much… the most I've seen so far is five… why?'_

'_While Sakura's power is immense, her speed is only mediocre… it's been reasonably easy to dodge her attacks so far… no, the problem is Naruto…'_

'_Instead of spamming Kage-bunshin like I __**know**__ he can, he's limited himself to support…? Why?' _The Jounin actually scowled at that, a small frown appearing beneath his mask, _'Whenever I go for Sakura, a clone switches out with her and there's suddenly a sword in my face…_

_He's considerably faster than before… and his fighting style is far more refined… but, he never showed any inclination towards kenjutsu beforehand…_

_That, and he's been leading the attacks, falling into a _'1-2-3-Ohmygodthat'sSakura'sfist!'_ pattern… it's actually been pretty effective… I've been hard pressed to dodge it every time so far… if they just kept that up, I'd be in trouble…'_

Kakashi's frown became a small smile, _'But… that's predictable… and Naruto's _never _predictable.'_

A pair of familiar smells hit the Jounin's nose, _'They're here!'_

Two Naruto's burst from the trees not too far in front of Kakashi, Sakura close behind them.

But Kakashi saw the clone coming at him from his 7:30.

The heat of the Crescent Flame the Naruto behind him had fired was stopped cold when a wall of dirt shot up behind the Jounin.

There was barely a pause between the end of one jutsu and the start of another, his hands flew through the seals and before Sakura and the pair of Naruto's were half-way to him, a massive ball of flames was hurtling their way.

The Naruto's dropped to a knee, pulling Sakura down between them and presenting the armored plates of their shoulders onto the oncoming fireball, chakra surging out of the flat steel to form a pane of surging chakra to meet the fire.

It was actually quite interesting to see the chakra-fueled flames of his jutsu be repelled by raw chakra and some minor shape manipulation. It looked especially interesting with the sharingan.

Wait, didn't a clone of Naruto always switch out with Sakura when he put her in dange-

Kakashi _moved_.

Sakura's fist went _**through **_the wall of earth behind Kakashi as if it never existed and continued on through where the Jounin's chest had been only fractions of a second before.

Kakashi somersaulted away from the pink-haired-powerhouse, catching sight of three Narutos plowing right through his fireball towards his back, their flaming black swords held in front of them.

The kunoichi kept on coming before the debris of his earthen defense even settled back to the ground and Kakashi had to leap to the right to avoid the vicious punch from his former student.

One of the Naruto clones used the kunoichi's back as a springboard to launch himself into the air, the blonde then began to launch Crescent Flame after Crescent Flame at the Jounin, forcing Kakashi to dodge even further back to avoid the blades of fire.

His hands began to go through another set of seals when the other two Narutos somehow slipped through the rain of fire.

In that split second, Kakashi realized that Naruto had been planning to interrupt his hand-seals with something like this the whole time.

It would've worked if Kakashi hadn't begun a backflip at the last possible second, his feet passing through the space the clones heads would've been had they not pulled up short. He'd landed several feet back and finished his seals, "Suiton: Teppoudama."

The airborne Naruto managed to land after the sizable bullet of water had destroyed its companions.

All in all, it was a maneuver that wouldn't have worked if he hadn't still had reach on the boy.

Wait- Why was Naruto's scent so strong-?

Kakashi launched himself forward, dodging around Naruto's Ōdachi to land a solid punch to the blondes face. Kakashi wasn't surprised when the boy disappeared in smoke, nor was he particularly surprised when what he assumed to be the real Naruto finished pulling himself out of the ground where Kakashi had been only a second before.

Naruto… this boy… was he really making it up as he went? Or was he planning it all out? They both seemed equally unlikely.

Wait… the blonde was grinning wildly at him… shit…

Kakashi glanced behind him, worried that Sakura might've taken his distraction as a chance to get closer, but while the girl was approaching him, it was at a sedate pace and she was still a ways off.

The Jounin's eyes snapped back to Naruto, in the half second his eyes had been off the blonde, the boy had stuck his Ōdachi onto his back once again.

Both ninja tensed, but neither made a move for several very long seconds.

Then Naruto slowly took his hand from the hilt of his sword, starting to bring them in front of his chest, "Neh… Kakashi-sensei?"

"… Yes Naruto?"

"You're in the center of a pretty big clearing huh?" the blondes hands began to settle into a familiar cross seal.

Kakashi did **not** give the boy the chance. Because he understood _exactly_ what the blonde was implying by that statement.

Shuriken flew through the air at the teen and Naruto had to leap high into the air to avoid them. Another set almost immediately followed the first, aimed right at the airborne blonde. What the boy did made Kakashi's eyebrows go up.

The boy created a clone in _mid-air_, and had the clone pull him out of the way.

'_Inventive use of shadow clones… but it's not enough.'_

The original grabbed the clone, turning in the air even as it turned into a massive shuriken. But the moment _his_ feet touched dirt, Kakashi's foot touched his _face_, **hard**.

Only for the blonde to explode into smoke.

'_It'd been a clone all along?! SHIT!'_

The masked Jounin flipped and twisted in the air, pulling out a pair of kunai before he landed after his kick, facing the pink-haired kunoichi across from him.

His fears were confirmed when the pinkette gave him a foxy grin, bringing her hands up into a familiar cross-seal.

"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."

For a moment, Kakashi felt as if the world had suddenly gotten blurry. He comforted himself that he wasn't going blind… it was just the absurd number of Sakura-look-alikes that were phasing into existence all around him.

'_Damn… I'd be willing to bet the real Sakura is in there somewhere as well…' _the masked man tilted his head to the side and drawled out, "Oh…? I was wondering when this would come out…"

"I was saving it for when I had the space Kak-a-shi-sen-sei," the first Sakura drew out the syllables of the Jounin's name teasingly, waggling a finger at him, "A hundred me's is all well and good, but there's no use if they get in each others way, neh?"

A quick scan of the crowd confirmed it, the kunoichi look-alikes were all reasonably spaced apart… that meant Naruto had intentionally created them in this pattern… it seems chakra control wasn't his worst point anymore, "A hundred times nothing is still nothing Naruto."

Several of the pinkettes blinked before that foxy grin settled on every face in the crowd.

"I know that sensei, but Shadow Clones don't multiply me… they divide… and you can't exactly divide by zero now can you?"

Kakashi paused to 'think' about that, "Hm… I guess not…" the sides of his eyes crinkled as he smiled into the crowd, "That must mean you're more than nothing then, huh, Naruto…?"

The momentary surprise that rippled through the crowd of 'Sakuras' was _not_ wasted. Kakashi flew through them like a reaper through wheat, his kunais hitting shoulders and knees. Searching for a girl that didn't pop when cut.

Kakashi had taken out nearly thirty of the two hundred odd clones before they reacted, but react they did.

Apparently Naruto hadn't just been working on his kenjutsu.

The white haired man dipped and dodged and _moved _through the swarm, but it was suddenly a lot harder to hit them than before.

Every time the Jounin tried to get out of the clearing, get himself some space and limit the number of clones that could swarm him, several clones would burst at his him in a coordinated strike and force him to dodge back into the clearing.

Their speed was good, and while Naruto wasn't the powerhouse that Sakura was, Kakashi wasn't about to let himself get hit. One time a clone had him cornered against a tree, and while the Jounin had done a flip over the oncoming punch, he'd gotten a good look at what it did to the poor tree.

The blonde-turned-Sakura had torn off bark, splintered a portion of the trunk, and made a number of cracks appear in the wood. With a single punch.

No, Naruto wasn't on the same level as Tsunade or Sakura, but he _was _a powerhouse.

'_This… this is taking too long…' _was the Jounins thought as he ducked underneath a synchronized pair of punches and stabbed his attackers in the thighs, making them pop, _'Naruto is out there somewhere making more clones every time I destroy some… and I'm getting tired… he's forced me into __**his **__kind of fight, a test of stamina…'_

Steel glinted in Kakashi's eyes, _'Well, we're not ones to play by the rules, eh Obito?'_

The Jounin launched himself high into the air, rotating to face the ground as his hands flying through the seals, "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu," he pinched his fingers in front of his lips, and blew.

The clearing became hell on earth.

Kakashi let the flames trickle off as he reached the apex of his jump; it looked like he'd gotten most of the clones, the only survivors being the ones that had ducked behind trees at the edge of the clearing.

His feeling of satisfaction was cut off by two whispered words.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei."

His sharingan widened and he twisted around in the air, there, behind him, was Sakura.

The _real _Sakura.

How'd he know? Well, the fact that the girl had just ripped a tree out of the ground and was about to use it like a club was a bit of a clue.

The tree came down _fast_. Kakashi didn't even get a chance to substitute out before getting caught in the limbs.

Thankfully, he was able to substitute out with a pre-prepared log before he hit the dirt.

Hitting the ground at that speed with a tree on top of you would _not've _been fun.

Unfortunately, the log he replaced himself with was at the edges of his range, and the moment the Jounin's feet touched dirt, he staggered. He immediately caught himself and straightened, but it had happened.

'_Heh… I've been using a lot of chakra intensive jutsu haven't I…?' _his gloved hand came up and tugged his hitai-ate back down over his eye, _'I'll have to be careful and pace myself… they're starting to wear me down…'_

His nose twitched and his visible eye widened, _'They've found me already?!'_

Kakashi turned towards the smell to find a fully armored blonde thundering towards him… in absolute silence.

Even _he_ felt a _little_ intimidated by that, but it didn't stop him from bringing his arms up in a basic defensive stance.

Ten feet away from him, Naruto launched himself into the air, hurtling like a missile towards Kakashi, _'Kay, I can handl-'_

One blonde turned into forty mid-air.

'_-ohshi-'_

The Jounin's reflexes kicked in, Naruto's were smacked out of the sky like flies.

But there were a lot of 'em damnit.

One hit him hard, knocking the wind out of him, immediately followed by another, then a third and fourth. Within seconds the masked Jounin was on the dirt, covered in Naruto's. A blonde for every limb, three for his torso, and another covering his head.

'_Well… okay… that… could've been worse… all I've got to do is make a snarky comment and switch out with one of the clo-… wait… Naruto's chest isn't that soft… ohshitheswitchedwithSaku-'_

The copy-nin didn't get to finish his thought before a medical jutsu knocked him out.

* * *

Sakura couldn't help but smile warmly at her teammate.

They'd passed Kakashi-sensei's test fair and square this time. Together.

And if she was honest with herself, it had mostly been due to Naruto.

Even if it didn't look like it right now, the blonde had been the one to take point in every skirmish with sensei, leading the fight, making the plans, setting up the openings. Sakura had been surprised, pleasantly so, at the seriousness which he'd taken the test.

During one of their impromptu planning sessions, Naruto had given her his assessment of their sensei.

"_Better at taijutsu than Fuzzy-brows, nearly as good a planner as Shikamaru, better sense of smell than Kiba, fastest ninjutsu I've ever seen, and that damn sharingan to top it all off. Heh, Kakashi-sensei's a beast alright."_

'_Well, Naruto…' _Sakura couldn't help but smile wider as she watched her friend, _'If Kakashi-sensei's a beast, you're a monster.'_

'_The only member of the old rookie nine that beats you in taijutsu is Lee, you're almost as fast as he is with his weights on, and you match him in brute strength. You haven't shown a __**lot **__of techniques, but the ones you know, you really __**know**__. And your kenjutsu is better than some of the ANBU I know.'_

She made a quick check of the prone form of Kakashi beside her to make sure he was recovering properly before returning to her musing,_ 'Your own tracking abilities are nothing to scoff at, your sense of hearing, sight, and smell are better than a normal humans. Your clones are so tough that you have to really __**hit **__them to make them dispel and your stamina is as crazy as ever…'_

_Heh… you might not plan out every step like Shikamaru, but your overall plans are good and still leave leeway for your trademark unpredictability…' _

The blondes plans had gone something like this: _'Okay, let's push him into the clearing so I can spam Kage-Bunshin for a bit and tire him out. You'll come at him from the front with a pair of clones while I send another clone at him from behind. _

_The flanking clone's gonna attack him with fire, Kakashi-sensei'll probably block it with a quick water or earth wall before throwing a really big attack jutsu at the assault team. When he does, the clones'll grab you and drop to the dirt and 'protect' you. I want you to use that as a cover to switch out with the flanking clone and attack sensei from behind. Now, I don't __**expect**__ you to hit him, but try to force him towards the clearing.'_

Sakura had of course asked, _'And after that?'_

He'd **grinned **at her, sending a pleasant tingle up her spine, _'Well, we'll figure that out when we get there.'_

When she'd stopped to think about it, Sakura had almost been scared. Scared that the boy she'd known, hyperactive, naïve, eager to please, and a bit of a knucklehead, no longer existed. That… that the guy who'd asked her out every day (usually several times) for so long, had been completely replaced by this serious young man.

Then he'd taken a bell of Kakashi's belt and started doing this little dance that made her laugh.

He was still doing it actually.

It was still the Naruto she knew, just… grown up…

A small, affectionate sigh escaped her before she could stifle it, an embarrassed blush spreading across her face as she checked to make sure Naruto hadn't noticed.

Thankfully, he hadn't.

'_Gah! Now I'm mooning over _Naruto _of all people!' _Sakura berated herself as she forced herself to check over Kakashi once again, making sure the older man hadn't been unduly hurt by a suddenly induced change in his brainwaves.

Inner Sakura had to add her two ryo, **'Even though his butt looks real nice in those pants, and that chest-plate! Talk about a **_**chest**_**-plate! You can't get much more form-fitting than that!' **the mental figure started to drool unabashedly.

Sakura's eyebrow twitched in irritation at the stray thought, _'So…? It's __**Naruto**__, he's still a bit of a blockhead and a pervert…' _A quick glance confirmed that the object of her thoughts was _still_ doing his victory dance, and had been for the past thirty minutes, _'Not to mention he's doing the _stupidest_ dance.'_

'**A dance that does such wonderfully yummy things to his hips! And talk about stamina! Rowr! Bet he could go on and on all nig-' **

The voice in her head was promptly silenced with the mental equivalent of a roundhouse kick.

"Neh, neh! Sakura-chan, any idea when Kakashi-sensei's going to wake up? I wanna rub this in his mask a bit before the warm-fuzzies go away-ttebayo!"

Sakura's eyebrow began twitching again as she growled, "Naruto…"

"What?" the blonde squatted down on the other side of Kakashi and gave her a _grin_, "You know you want to do it too…"

She huffed when he waggled his eyebrows at her suggestively, "No I don't Naru-"

"Yes you dooooo!" same Naruto all right.

Sakura shook her fist at the blonde and drew out every syllable of his name with as much warning as she could muster, "Naaa-Ruuu-Tooo…!"

Then Naruto's expression changed a bit, he became a bit more serious instead of teasing, leaning in a bit closer, his blue eyes boring into her own as he whispered, "Sakura-chan, it's not right to deny your feelings like that. Not really acting on them is okay, but don't deny they exist."

The kunoichi stopped in place, her fist still hanging in the air as she said his name again, unable to identify the emotion that she put into it, "Naruto…"

For a moment, she just stared at the serious and yet slightly smiling boy… no… young man, that was across from her. In that instant, she could truly see him as the Hokage.

Then he gave her one of his sillier grins and the spell was broken, "All those repressed urges _can't _be good for you! You might just, like, _explode_ from sexual frustration or something-ttebayo!"

"Gah! Naruto!" Sakura smacked the chuckling blonde upside the head pretty hard, but they both could read the subtext.

_I missed you Sakura…_

_I missed you too… Naruto…_

* * *

Naruto sat quietly beside the prone form of his sensei, content with the world as it was.

He'd beaten his sensei in a fair fight, no tricks, no gimmicks, no Kyuubi, no Minions.

Just him, and Sakura-chan.

It was an amazing feeling.

He'd been tempted to try and perform the 'Thousand Years of Death' on his old sensei… but he wanted to show that he could be serious today.

Besides, Naruto knew he'd get another chance.

Either that or make one.

Naruto grinned at the thought.

At least until another voice broke into his thoughts, literally, _"Sire?"_

"_Yeah Gnarl, what is it?" _Naruto wasn't angry per se, just… unhappy to have his pleasant musings interrupted.

"_Well… ah, I'm curious as to why you did not summon the Minions to aid you…"_

Naruto schooled his external expression to keep from worrying Sakrua, but he let his irritation shine through his thoughts to Gnarl, _"I've told you this before Gnarl, I will __**not **__use the power of the Kyuubi on allies, it's far too likely that I'll get too into the fight and actually __**hurt **__them."_

Having to order people around had gradually changed Naruto more than almost anything else. The only thing that beat that was Gnarl's insistence that the boy _think_ before he acted.

Naruto had never been able to interact with people on a regular basis. In Konoha, he'd been socially isolated to the point that he was actually in the process of developing mental problems, and traveling with Jiraiya, he'd often times left a place before having to really feel the consequences of his actions. And he'd never had the _slightest _experience with commanding others!

The minions might've been slavishly loyal, slightly sadistic, and dumber than a sack of particularly dull hammers… but they had personalities and minds of their own. It took a stern hand to rule them, and that stern hand extended to Gnarl as well.

It might've been amusing to see his Minions run around with pumpkins for hats, but people tended to have issues when they ran around with a gutted lamb as a helmet.

So, firm hand.

"_I… don't understand Sire… how does not using the Nine-tails' power relate to not summoning your Minions?"_

Naruto frowned momentarily before he caught himself, he'd thought Gnarl was smarter than that, _"Gnarl, I won't use the Kyuubi's power because it's too _dangerous_, and Minions have very little self control. If I empowered them enough to be a threat to Kakashi-sensei, they'd do their best to kill him… and I'm not willing to take that risk just to speed up a fight. Besides," _the corner of the blondes mouth twitched upwards just a hint, _"It's good training to push myself every once in a while."_

Naruto paused in his thoughts for a moment before adding, _"And I'd rather you didn't contact me again during these first few days… I just want to enjoy meeting my friends again and savor being home for a while… no Overlording and stuff till then, kay?"_

"_Ah, I understand Sire," _the tone to the Minion Master's 'words' said he did, but he didn't like it.

Well, that wouldn't do.

"_Ah yes, Gnarl?"_

There was a pause on the other end, _"Yes Sire…?"_

"_If you _ever _suggest that I use lethal force against allies again, I will lock you inside Mortis' pool for a month. Fair warning and all that-ttebayo."_

"_S-Sure thing Sire, I'll endeavor to keep that in mind."_

The mental connection was cut abruptly, making the corners of Naruto's mouth twitch again.

There wasn't much that scared Minions, they actually _revered_ Minions that had died in creative ways in the name of their Overlord.

But they wanted to die in service of their Overlord, or not at all.

No Minion has ever died of old age, Gnarl himself has actually lost track of the years, so most Minions died either working on their Lord's projects (like redesigning the Netherworld) or in battle.

But to have their soul forced into the pool of the dead without dying for their Overlord? That absolutely _terrified _them. More so than the Kyuubi terrified Konoha.

It might take entire villages worth of life-force to bring the ancient Minion Master back from the pool after he'd been shoved in there… but Naruto would, could, and _had_ done it before to make his point.

Naruto would **not** tolerate the Minions sadistic tendencies where allies were involved.

But enough of these darker thoughts! Naruto wasn't Sasuke or anything-ttebayo! So, what was it that had made him so content before that conversation again…?

Ah, beating the snot out of sensei, hehe… good times, good times.

---

Gnarl was happy that Naruto's darker side was truly starting to show… he really was! He'd encouraged and developed it in the boy himself!

But… that didn't mean the boy couldn't scare him sometimes…

The ancient Minion gulped to himself as he shuffled down the stairs that ran along the outside of the Spire. He would **not **willing let himself go back to that pool like that ever again!

He shook himself once to get rid of the heebie-jeebies he'd gotten remembering that place.

Now, there was no way he was going to just let his Overlord go unsupervised, threat or no! He just… wouldn't contact the boy…

The threat ran through his mind again and Gnarl shivered, he seriously hoped those beetles would keep his mind off _that_.

* * *

Kakashi was awake.

He didn't twitch, he didn't move, he didn't do much of anything other than wake up.

Then he remembered he wasn't on a mission and it had just been his own students that knocked him out.

His students were on either side of him, probably kneeling. While they were quiet, there wasn't any tension in the air. They'd probably taken him aside after they'd knocked him out, talked a bit, then settled down to wait for him to get up.

Taking into account Naruto's new level of maturity, that could've taken anywhere from thirty minutes to an hour.

"Hey… Kakshi-sensei?"

"Yes Naruto?"

Kakashi could _feel _the grin directed at him, "Just makin' sure you were awake."

The Jounin sighed, _'Well… there goes my nap…'_

* * *

"You two have really become strong, huh? I'm surprised you were actually able to get the bells."

"Pft, of course Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto grinned at the Jounin in the growing light of the morning, "You didn't think we spent the past couple years slacking off did ya? I wouldn't be surprised if we'd even surpassed you-ttebayo!"

"Naruto!" Sakura admonishingly smacked the boys' armored shoulder; though there was a small smile on her face, "Don't be conceited!"

Kakashi chuckled, smiling at his charges and shaking his head a bit, "But anyway, I'm still young," he _did not _hear that disbelieving snort from Naruto, he _didn't, _"And I've recently developed a brilliant new jutsu…"

The Jounin was cut off by a particularly eloquent grumble from Naruto's stomach.

"Ah! I almost forgot! I've barely done anything on my list!" the blonde boy grabbed the sides of his head, "Crap! I haven't even gone to Ichiraku Ramen! … or home, but I haven't gone to old man Teuchi's place yet! Damn!"

Sakura actually considered that a moment, "Yeah… I'm a bit hungry myself from the exercise yesterday…"

Kakashi couldn't help the sigh that escaped him, _'Back then, they'd react to every little thing… they were cute back then…'_

Naruto snickered and 'whispered' conspiratorially to Sakura, "Right! It'll be Kakashi-sensei's treat!"

The girl couldn't help but grin devilishly, "Alright sensei!"

However, the masked man had different ideas, "Sorry, I have to create and submit a list of formations of the new teams, so it's goodbye for now, ja ne."

And then he was gone.

"Ah! Bastard ran away…" Naruto huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. He honestly should've seen that coming when he'd volunteered the man to pay. Lazy bastard _was_ pretty good at running away.

Sakura 'hmph'd, "Saying something like that, he's just trying to read that book more… probably…"

Something dawned on Naruto, "Heh, well… since it's just us, you still want to go?"

The girl shrugged, "Sure."

Naruto _beamed _at her, "Then it's a dat-"

"You're paying."

He blinked before shrugging himself, "Sure, it'll be nice to catch up with things-ttebayo," the teen pulled his frog wallet out of his pocket, checking to be sure he still had enough on him.

It was about then when Sakura recognized a pair of faces in the crowd and called out excitedly, "Shikamaru! Temari-san! Hey, who do you think this is?!" the pinkette gestured at the taller boy beside her.

It took a moment for Shikamaru to put a name to the face on top of the body of a samurai, but once he did a smile spread across his face, "Hey! If it isn't Naruto!"

Naruto barked out a short laugh, "Hah! Shikamaru! I missed you man!"

As the two pairs of shinobi approached one another, the blondes glanced at each other.

Temari's analytical mind performed an automatic threat assessment.

~170 cm. Built for power. High quality samurai armor, weak points in armor: head, inner bicep, thighs, groin, feet. Ōdachi, ~150 cm blade, 35 cm handle. Walks like a close-combat specialist, probably knows how to use his fists and the sword. Ally.

Relaxing marginally, Temari actually _looked _at the other blonde in mild surprise. Kid had been a midget before, now he had five or so centimeters on her. When she'd last saw him, he'd just been a punk playing ninja, beating Gaara aside, he'd been a joke… now? Now he looked like a serious shinobi.

The two groups stopped a couple feet from each other, and at this distance Temari could _feel _the chakra being dumped into the armor in insane amounts.

The young mans eyes flicked up and down Temari once, cool and analytical. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as she was examined, then the feeling passed as his eyes flicked over her again, this time warm and appraising. The once over a young man gave an attractive woman and the Suna-kunoichi could feel her cheeks warm just a bit.

This entire exchange lasted about two seconds.

"Did you just get back?"

"Nah," Naruto laced his fingers behind his head and smiled at Shikamaru, "I only got back yesterday though."

"Heh, so, still an idiot or have you managed to change?" Shikimaru smirked at the blonde, expecting an explosive answer.

He didn't get one, instead, Naruto smiled warmly at him, "I like to think I've grown up at least a little, neh?" he shrugged some, his eyes closing as he smiled even wider, "But I've tried to keep a bit of my idiocy. People always underestimate 'idiots', y'know?"

One of Shikamaru's eyebrows went up and he glanced over at Sakura for confirmation. The girl just smiled a bit, "He actually hasn't been all that bad since he's arrived," she shrugged, "No idea how long _that's _going to last though."

"Hey…! Sakura-chaaaaan…!" Naruto pouted at the girl, earning smiles from the others before he shook his head and turned to Shikamaru, "What about you Shika? You stopped being lazy yet?"

"No."

Naruto chuckled and turned to Temari, "You aren't bothered that he's like this?"

She raised a brow at him, "Why would I be?" there was just a hint of accusation in her voice.

'_Ah, so she's attracted to him but they're not together… still, backpedal,' _"Well unless my eyes deceive me, you're the one hanging out with him… and you don't really strike me as the type to just accept his dedication to laziness."

The older girl acknowledged his point with a small nod, "Sadly, I've _got_ to deal with this lazy ass," she threw a small glare at the uncaring Chuunin beside her, "There's a Chuunin exam soon, I'm just going back and forth between Suna and Konoha for meetings."

Shikamaru picked up where she left off, "And, it's troublesome, but I've become an examiner, so…" the teen sighed and let his head loll to the side, "I was told to go see off the messengers from sand or something…"

Naruto blinked before a pensive smile settled on his face, "Heh… a Chuunin exam huh? Man… that brings back memories…" the blonde hadn't missed the fact that Shikamaru had easily finished Temari's statement, nor that the Suna-kunoichi had almost expected him to.

They were closer than they would admit.

Shikamaru smiled at Naruto, "Yeah, it does. By the way, what are your plans?"

The confused look on Naruto's face almost spoke for itself, "Hm? What do you mean-ttebayo?"

The lazy nin rolled his eyes, "What you say, sheesh. It's a _Chuunin exam_…"

"Yeah…?"

Now Shikamaru scowled, "Naruto… the only one from our class who hasn't become a Chuunin… is you."

Naruto slowly blinked, "You're shittin' me."

"Nope."

The blonde turned to Sakura, "Even you Sakura-chan?!" his face became even more pitiful when the girl gave him a Victory-V, "Awww man! I didn't even know I could enter this one! Gah!" He ran his hands through his hair in agitation, "Man, and here I was planning on riding along with whoever was still a Genin… damn… this sucks-ttebayo."

Shikamaru couldn't resist adding onto the blonde's irritation, "Plus, Neji from the class above us, Kankuro of the Sand, and Temari here are already Jounin."

"Whaaaa~?! Man, you guys suck!" Naruto crossed his arms over his chest with a huff, an exaggerated pout on his face.

Temari couldn't resist either, "Not to mention Gaara's the Kazekage."

Naruto just tilted his head and gave her the _'What do you think I am? Stupid?'_ "Yeah… so? I already knew **that**. I've been training abroad, not living under a rock or in some secluded mountain-ttebayo."

* * *

"Sunagakure's been warned and are preparing. Their ANBU have been deployed to key points on the outskirts of the village… even so… I wonder whether they'll be able to forcibly stop someone like me from entering their country…"

Tsunade and Kakashi exchanged a glance before turning back to Jiraiya, Tsunade taking the lead, "Do you really think they'll start with something flashy like attacking the Kazekage?"

Jiraiya scowled, "Based on the members we've been able to identify, it's quite possible… about half of them aren't exactly, subtle…"

Kakashi's eye narrowed slightly in confusion, "We've…?

The toad sage nodded, "I've been helping Naruto learn how to build his own spy network and teaching him how to infiltrate, kid's actually pretty good at it. Naruto's actually better at maintaining an alternate identity than I am with his Transformation and all."

Tsunade nodded carefully, "Did either of you find out their objective then?"

Jiraiya scowled, "Nothing new unfortunately… all we know is that they're after the jinchuuriki…" He shook his head slightly, staring off into space, "Naruto was able to find and tag all of the other jinchuuriki so we'll know when and if they go after them…"

The Hokage scowled, but nodded, "You have a list of their members?"

Jiraiya nodded, "Some, but not all," he pulled his notebook and pencil out of his vest and began to write, "As far as we could tell, they operate in pairs."

"There's Deidara, former Iwa Nin, uses exploding clay, partner: unknown," Jiraiya ripped off the page and tossed the ad-hoc bingo book entry and rough sketch onto the table.

"Then there's Kakazu, former Taki Nin, seemingly immortal, takes something from his opponents' bodies, obsessed with money. His partner is Hidan, he's from Yugakure, another immortal, this one worships some bloody god called Jashin," two pages were tossed onto the desk.

Jiraiya scowled and put his notebook away, "The only other ones we know about are Hoshigake Kisame and of course, Uchiha Itachi…" the Sannin frowned, "Unfortunately we haven't found anything new about those two…"

Tsunade gave the pages little more than a glance before pushing them over to Kakashi, "What did Naruto contribute to this?"

"Names," Jiraiya leaned back in his chair, "The brat can play a woman surprisingly well… He had the brilliant idea to try and get the names and descriptions of _all _the villages missing nins and their ranks… whenever he was questioned about his curiosity, he played the guilty ditz and usually said something like," Jiraiya did a horrible impression of a woman's voice, "Oh, my boyfriend is kinda a bounty hunter… he sorta wants to know who to look out for and stuff… and… and I just wanna help him!"

The toad sage became serious again, "I don't know how the kid pulled it off, but he did, he actually got _lists_ of missing nin to look for as well as their rank and some basic info on them," he shook his head, "Naruto worked the police and ANBU of every village we visited, hidden or not. I worked the seedier parts of town."

Tsunade nodded again, glaring a hole in her desk for a long moment before turning her gaze back to her old teammate, "You said there was something you needed to tell me in person."

Jiraiya nodded, his face hardening even further, "Naruto… he's…" the older man sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, "I'll just start from the beginning. About two months into our trip, he made a new summoning contract…"

---

"That… I-… actually… I don't really know how to feel about that…"

Tsunade, despite her agreement with the masked Jounin, tried to get to the heart of the matter, "So… this boss-summon… Gnarl?" Jiraiya nodded, "It's been training Naruto as well?"

Another nod.

The slug Sannin scowled, "You also said this summon has been manipulating him… how and, more importantly, why?"

Jiraiya scowled as well, "I don't know exactly _why, _but I think he wants Naruto to be the kind of leader he wants…"

He paused, "The how is pretty simple. Whenever he wanted the boy to do something, it just told him that's what a good Hokage would do… at least, in the beginning." The toad sage frowned, "By the time I confronted him about it, the summon had already had several uncontested months with the boy…"

The Sannin hesitated, "By then, Naruto was considerably harder to manipulate… Gnarl had taken whatever urges the boy had to control things… and had done its best to blow them out of proportion" the man sighed, and for a long moment, looked his age, "I did what I could…"

That statement brought up a number of bad memories for the aged hermit, not all of them related to Naruto.

Tsunade knew that, and delicately coughed, breaking her old teammate out of his reverie.

He shook his depression off and continued, "The problem is… somewhere along the line, his goal shifted from become Hokage to be recognized… to be Hokage to better protect his friends…"

There was a brief silence before Kakashi hesitantly broke it, "I don't see the problem…?"

"…I never said he stopped having a control complex."

Tsunade's mind _immediately_ went to the worst case scenario, "Is he stable?"

Jiraiya hesitated, _really _hesitated before answering, "… Yes."

"Jiraiya…"

"You asked if he was _stable_, and he is… the odds of him going crazy and defecting or directly damaging the village are almost nil… But…" the white-haired Sannin winced, "But I'm not sure he's entirely _sane._"

The sentence hung in the air for a long moment before the Hokage leaned back into her chair and began rummaging through her desk. Neither of the men in the room were particularly surprised when she pulled out a bottle of Sake and both were thankful that she'd gotten several dishes.

Her voice was tired as she poured the drinks, "How bad is it…?"

"… bad… but not horrible… the kid seems to genuinely care for his friends at least…" the white-haired Sannin accepted his dish of Sake with a nod.

The Hokage pushed Kakashi's bowl to him, considering her own empty dish for a moment, "What's your assessment…?"

"The boy's dependant on the people he considers friends almost to the point of being a disorder…" he paused, contemplating the Sake in his cup, "He's also shown signs of turning into a control freak…"

Tsunade decided to skip the cup and just sip Sake straight from the bottle.

"Right now, the kid's about as normal as any current Konoha Jounin, he's a nice guy who's got a couple mental issues and has his own way to cope with the shit he's done…" Jiraiya paused to take another sip of Sake, "The kid _will _be Hokage someday, and a damn good one if he keeps this up. But I'm worried…"

Tsunade finished his sentence, "… that he'll turn into Orochimaru." or, at least she tried to.

"No… not really… that boy's devoted to Konoha… I'm worried that he might become _completely_ sociopathic in regards to his enemies, or worse… decide to control his friends _'for their own good',_" Jiraiya shook his head slowly.

"I don't even know how many levels he works on at any particular moment…" anger tinged the Sannin's voice, "Sometimes, he's thinking ten steps ahead… others, he's just winging it and enjoying the moment… and I _can't tell the difference_."

The toad sage downed the rest of his cup, trying desperately to get the bad taste out of his mouth, "No… I'm not afraid the boy'll become another Orochimaru… I'm afraid he'll become another Danzo."

After a pause, Jiraiya held his cup out for more. Tsunade took it from him and filled it, she considered the cup for a moment before keeping the cup, and handed Jiraiya the bottle.

* * *

"Neh, Sakura-chan?"

"Yes, Naruto?" the young woman looked over at her friend curiously; it'd been the first time he'd spoke since they'd parted with Shikamaru and Temari. The two of them had actually been walking to Ichiraku Ramen at a comfortably sedate pace in pleasant silence.

"Just wanted to say, I'm glad to be back," the boy grinned at her and Sakura could feel a smile of her own forming. Naruto's smiles were infectious like that.

"I'm glad you're back too Naruto," that had come out more affectionately than she'd intended, but instead of tripping, shouting, jumping, or any of the other things Sakura might've expected him to do, the blonde just smiled at her with a hint of pink on his cheeks.

"Thanks… Sakura-chan…" and with that, he kept walking down the street, as if nothing had happened.

It was little things like that, small things that just kept popping up the longer she was around Naruto, that made her reconsider the image she'd labeled 'Uzumaki Naruto' in her mind.

In the past two years, she'd kept remembering Naruto like how he'd been when he'd left. She knew he'd change, but… had never really been able to shake the image of a blonde, blue-eyed brat, the runt of the class, that horrendous neon-orange jumpsuit, the dead-last and yet… the number one most surprising knucklehead.

Whenever she'd taken the time to daydream about the future, Naruto had always been included how he _was_. She'd thought he'd always be short, loud, obnoxious, and yet sincere. Nice, friendly, and a bit naïve, but always immature and kinda perverted…

He'd changed.

Sakura hadn't even realized she'd fallen in a half-step behind him until he'd glanced _back_ at her. He'd lead, and she'd followed, it'd been instinctive… natural…

She'd _known _Naruto had a way with people, Gaara and Neji were proof of that… but she really hadn't _experienced _it until just then.

This Naruto… this Naruto was confident, self-assured, but not haughty or conceited, despite her earlier admonishments. He didn't swagger or strut down the street as he might've when they were younger; instead, he walked with a easy and controlled gait, his thumbs hooked loosely in his pockets.

He actually looked like a serious shinobi now… he might've kept the orange… but he didn't stick out like a sore thumb anymore. It wasn't that garish shade it'd been before, he'd gone with a darker, more muted shade of orange for the pieces of armor. That, combined with the intricate pattern of black stripes… almost made him look like a tiger.

He'd even kept that spiral he always wore, the stripes on the cuirass and shoulder-guards actually led into a black swirl.

The scarf was new though, she'd never taken Naruto for a scarf-guy, but after wrapping it around his neck twice and tossing the ends over either shoulder, it definitely offset his armor nicely… though she wondered why he wore it… especially considering how everything on the outfit had a use…

'**Shannaro! I can think of a couple uses! It'd probably hold up just fine no matter how much we bucked and screa-'**

Sakura _pointedly_ ignored the voice in her head.

---

Naruto would've had a hard time being happier.

Here he was, going out on a pseudo date with the girl who wasn't just his best friend, but also his crush (and he'd admit it to himself, it was a crush at the moment, nothing more), and they were going to quite possibly the best restaurant… ever! (At least in his opinion)

The girl made a good showing against Kakashi-sensei, her raw power had been staggering. Her speed was lacking though… maybe if he got her to wear some weights…?

The blonde was about to make the suggestion when a flash of indigo and white caught his eyes.

'_Neh…? Indigo and white…?' _Naruto blinked, _'Why would I notice… oh yeah! Hinata-chan!'_

A happy grin spread across his face as he changed course, Sakura'd understand, even if she'd roll her eyes or something, she'd understand.

In another time and place, Naruto had gone through his training worked to the bone, his body pushed to its absolute limits, pushed so hard that his clothes had literally frayed to the point of almost falling off… but he hadn't worked his mind.

He hadn't given a retelling of his life several times over. He hadn't had to describe every member of his class in as much detail as he could rack his mind for. He hadn't been forced to remember why he'd been so determined to fight Neji… and who had encouraged him when his confidence had faltered.

He hadn't remembered the kindness Hinata had shown him.

That Naruto hadn't learned that she'd almost been turned into a slave. Almost had her eyes plucked out. Almost been turned into a brood mare.

Thankfully for one particular Hyuuga, this was _not_ that world.

---

Hinata was, put simply, having a _small_ panic attack.

'_N-N-Naruto-kun's back?!'_

Okay, a _big_ panic attack.

She'd been on her way to the Yamanaka Flower Shop after training to see if they'd gotten that blue rose she'd ordered for her pressed flower collection, it'd been a nice, simple day… until a shock of blonde hair had caught her eye from across the street.

Now, Hinata wasn't obsessed with a certain blonde gennin. Infatuated certainly, but she'd grown out of her admittedly borderline-stalker tendencies (that she wouldn't admit were more than borderline) by the time she'd graduated from the academy. However, blonde wasn't a common hair color in Konoha, let alone in that shade, and even fewer at that length, the Yamanaka clan usually wore theirs considerably longer.

So when a single splotch of bright yellow hair flashed through the sparse numbers of people, she'd looked over on the off chance that it might be Naruto-kun.

If it was, she might be able to walk over and start up a conversation, maybe give a hint to her feelings for him, or even ask him out! (She didn't really believe any of that, but it was a nice thought). And if it wasn't (which was _far_ more likely) she'd just keep walking and forget about the whole deal.

She just hadn't expected it to actually be _him_!

There, within 17.3 feet, was Uzumaki Naruto. There wasn't a thing in the world that would make Hinata forget those whisker-marks and grin.

She wasn't ready! She hadn't even put on any make-up today! Her jacket still had grass stains and smudges of dirt! And she didn't know what she was going to say or what she was going to do or anything! And he was getting closer!

He'd turned slightly and said something to the person beside him, bringing her attention to his companion.

What little coherent activity in Hinata's brain came crashing to a halt. He was with Sakura-san.

She'd lost her chance, the pinkette had asked Naruto-kun out and was going on a date with him now and Naruto-kun was forever out of her reach. Her shyness had been her undoing, the boy she'd grown to love was now taken and she couldn't do anything about it. All her waiting all her training all the time she'd spent gathering her courage had been wasted because she hadn't gotten to him first.

Then Naruto-kun's head started to turn back in her direction.

There was no way she could face him now! She'd immediately ducked into a small alley to escape his presence.

With her back pressed up against the cold stone Hinata began to calm. The more rational part of her brain finally forced its way through her hormones and self-esteem issues, pointing out that Sakura-san was Naruto-kun's teammate, of _course _they'd be together if he'd just gotten back, it didn't matter whether they liked each other or not, they still had to catch up with the time they'd missed.

Then a little rush of happiness ran through her. Naruto-kun was back!

Obsessed…? Maybe a bit… but she was really just infatuated, really.

'_Naruto-kun…' _Hinata pressed her hands over her heart, trying to still the fluttering of her heart. She closed her eyes and took a deep, calming breath, _'He's back…'_ Her rather meager courage gathered, she opened her eyes-

There he was.

"Neh, Hinata-chan… why'd you hide over here…?"

'… _Hinata-__**chan**__…?!'_

The poor girl promptly passed out.

---

"Naruto?" Sakura walked up and peered over the blonde's shoulder; he'd suddenly changed direction and started moving faster and she was curious as to why.

Naruto eased himself down to his knees and glanced back at her, "Neh, Sakura-chan?" he shifted, and there in his arms was an unconscious Hyuuga Hinata, "Could you check her? She just passed out when I said hi… I wasn't even that close…"

Sakura's eyebrow began to twitch, "Naruto…"

"What?" the blonde nin hooked an arm under Hinata's knees, the other wrapping around her shoulder blades, "I'm serious! That crap ain't normal," he stood again, taking the girl with him and shifting slightly as he did so the Hyuuga's head rested on his shoulder.

This time the medic nin blinked before giving Naruto a warning glare, "Naruto… what are you doing?"

The boy actually _glared _at her and Sakura took a reflexive step back, "No, no accusing me of being a pervert for _this_. I'm not about to leave a lady lying unconscious on the ground without _real _good reason. _Especially_ not one of my friends."

Sakura's mouth pressed into a thin line for a moment before she nodded. He definitely had a point and it made plenty of sense… so why'd she reacted so… violently?

'**Cause he's mine and I ain't lettin' no Hyuuga steal'im away! Shannaro!'**

This voice was pointedly ignored.

"Sakura?" the girl shook herself just a bit and forced her attention back to her teammate, "Could you give Hinata-chan a once over, seriously?"

"Yeah Naruto… sorry 'bout that…" she put her hands over the unconscious Hyuuga, pushing the green medical chakra from her palms.

The boy smiled at her gently, "It's no problem… just… don't always assume what I'm doin' is pervy… kay?"

The corners of her mouth quirked up, "I'll try…"

---

"Mmmnnn…" Hinata shifted in the chair, she'd been having the most _wonderful_ dream, she'd defended Naruto-kun from a horrible enemy and confessed her feelings to the blonde. Together, they'd been victorious over their foe and, caught up in the thrill of their victory, Naruto-kun had _kissed_ her.

The dream had been winding down when she started to wake, Naruto-kun had swept her up in his arms and carried her off to get married, it was all completely impossible of course… but that didn't mean it was a bad dream.

The Hyuuga girl shifted in the chair, slowly waking up as she tried to remember when she'd fallen asleep in a chair.

She didn't really want to wake up though, the chair was warm and comfy, it wasn't too hard and it wasn't too squishy, it supported her back nicely and cradled her head _just_ so.

A soft sigh escaped the young woman as she snuggled into the chair, it even smelled good! In her half-awake state, the thought of seeing if it _tasted_ good too flashed through her head, but she dismissed it as being just a little _too _silly.

The chair's heartbeat even had a nice, steady ryth-

Wait, heartbeat…?!

Hinata's eyes snapped open and she stiffened, making her 'chair' chuckle, "Neh, Hinata-chan, don't pass out like that on me again, kay? You had me worried there for a second."

"N-N-Naruto-kun!"

"Oi, Naruto, be nice!"

He pouted, his bottom lip sticking out, "Neh neh Sakura-chan! I'm trying to be-ttebayo!"

Hinata pulled her head off of _Naruto-kun's _shoulder, swallowing down her panic as best she could as she stared at the blondes face. Naruto-kun was carrying her! _Her_! He was holding her to his chest and everything! She clenched her hands and made herself look away, fighting the embarrassment and mortification that threatened to overwhelm her.

"Neh, Hinata-chan? You alright?"

The Hyuuga squeaked and her eyes snapped back to his face, "Y-Y-Yes N-Naruto-kun! I-I-I'm fine!"

"Oh good," he _smiled _at her, not one of those fake ones she'd seen plastered on his face so often when he was younger, a _real _smile, directed at _her_ no less! Then Hinata noticed the familiar twinkle in his eyes as his smile melted into a foxy grin, "Then would you mind easing up on your grip? You're kinda stranglin' me here."

Hinata blinked once in confusion before her eyes darted to her hands, which were fisted in the blonde's scarf of black silk and tugging on it slightly.

She squeaked, yanking her hands away as if they'd been burned and pressing them together between her breasts. She was absolutely mortified and could feel her cheeks heating up.

The boy chuckled softly, his eyes shutting briefly in his amusement.

A growl distracted the Hyuuga from her embarrassment, "Naaa-ruuu-tooo…!" Sakura-san was shaking a fist in Naruto-kun's direction.

The boy laughed just a bit at that before sticking his tongue out at his teammate, "Alright alright, sheesh…" he turned his cerulean eyes back to her, "Sorry 'bout teasing you like that Hinata-chan, any way I can make it up to you?"

'_Hold me close and never let go?' _"I-It's alright N-Naruto-kun… I-I understand…"

He pouted at her and a brief, irrationally bold urge to kiss his pouting lips surged through her before she squashed it down, "But I probably carried you off away from where you were going!"

"If you want to help with that you'll have to put her down, genius."

The pinkette's comment made both teens pout slightly, but Naruto still bent over and set the girl in his arms down.

---

"Neh, sorry 'bout that Hinata-chan… where were you going anyways?" the blonde tilted his head to the side as he took a step back to give her some space.

Though thankful that her crush had given her some breathing room, Hinata's still began to press together, though now at her waist instead of under her chin, "I-It's okay Naruto-kun… I-I was just going b-by Yamanaka-san's shop to check on something… i-it wasn't that important," she glanced away, unable to meet Naruto-kun's eyes.

Unfortunately for her, while Naruto had gotten considerably better at consciously reading people's body language, he misread the subtext as such: _'It actually was kinda important, but I'm honestly too nice to try and impose! Really! It's nice that you're trying to make it up to me, but I really don't need it, honest!'_

Actually, Naruto was almost right on the money except for gauging the importance of what Hinata had been doing.

"Gah! That's in the complete opposite direction! Now I've _got _to make it up to you somehow!"

Hinata flushed, "N-N-No, i-i-it's okay Naruto-kun, y-you don't have to do anything!"

Naruto, however, was determined. He'd realized that even though Hinata had been nicer to him than anyone except for Iruka-sensei, Hokage-Ojii-san, and possibly Gnarl, Naruto hadn't done much of anything for _her_. He hadn't even properly thanked her for most of the things she'd done! And now here was a perfect excuse to be nice to the girl, no way he was going to just let this go!

The boy pouted as cutely as he could, putting on his best puppy-dog eyes, clasped his hands in front of his chest, and said with complete sincerity, "But I _want _to…"

Hinata didn't stand a chance.

"I-I… a-alright… Naruto-kun…"

Naruto's hands shot up into the air, making Hinata giggle, "Yes!"

Sakura chose this moment to interject, "Yeah… so how are you going to do that, genius?"

The Gennin's happy face fell, "Crap, hadn't thought of that…" his arms came down and he began to ponder. His eyes scrunched up, his left hand went to rubbing his chin and right cupped his left elbow, he stayed like that for a long moment before his strikingly blue eyes snapped open, "Neh, Hinata-chan… have you had lunch yet?"

"N-No Naruto-kun… not yet…?" a brief surge of hope ran through the girl before getting squashed by the more rational part of her mind. Naruto wasn't about to ask her out on a date if he was spending time with Sakura.

Man was _she _off.

The blonde smiled, pulling out of his 'pondering pose', "How 'bout I buy lunch then?"

"R-R-Really…?!"

Naruto chuckled, "Sure! Sakura-chan and I were going to be catching up over lunch anyways and I'd love it if you came along too," the Gennin hooked his thumbs in his pockets and smiled warmly at Hinata, "Paying for your lunch would be the least I could do since I'd be taking you away from your plans for the day."

HInata's mouth worked soundlessly for a moment before her attention snapped over to Sakura, the question in her eyes.

The pinkette shrugged, "Sure, why not? It'd be nice to catch up with you anyways… and it's not like we were on a date or anything…" Neither girl knew whether Sakura was simply stating a fact… or making a subtle jab at Hinata for intruding upon said 'not-date'.

Still, Hinata decided to accept the words at face value this time, and turned back towards the blonde, nodding happily, "I-I'd love to, N-Naruto-kun."

He _beamed_ at the girls, "Great! To Ichiraku Ramen we go!" and with a short laugh, strode confidently down the street, the girls falling into step behind him automatically.

Then… Naruto hesitated, a pensive look crossing his face.

"What is it Naruto?"

"Did… did I just do what I think I did…?"

The girls exchanged a glance before turning back to the blonde, "W-What do you mean Naruto-kun…?"

Naruto stopped in the middle of the street, scowling into space, "Did I seriously just get a date with two beautiful women at the same time…?" he glanced back at each reddening girl in turn, "Ho-ly shit… I _did_…" His arms shot up into the air, "Awesome!!"

There was a very long pause as a similar thought went through both girls heads.

'_A… a date?! With Naruto(-kun)?!'_

"N-Naruto-kun-!"

*thud*

"Ah! Hinata-chan! Not again!"

"Naaa-ruuu-toooooo!!!"

"AHH!!! Sakura-chan!!! Not the face! Not the face!!!"

* * *

**A.N.-). **Well I'm just going to stop there while I'm ahead. I know exactly what I'm doing next, but I want some feedback on my writing when it's not... whatever the prologue would be considered...

Anyways: Holy shit. This story's been up what, three, four days? It's already got more reviews than any of my others, if the trend continues it'll have more than all my others combined by the end of the week! That is more than a little awesome.

Constructive criticism makes me happy, so do intelligent reviews. The whole 'lol, awsom stori, rite mor!!!' (even if it'd been spelled correctly and gramatically sound) stuff... it's just fluff. If anything, pick out your favorite part of the chapter/story so I **at least **know what people like.

Anyways, thank y'all so much for the reviews, hope this thing's up to snuff to the (apparantly) high bar I set first chapter. Ja ne.


	3. The Twilight

**A.N-). **Well it's official, this story now has more reviews than the rest of my shit combined… damn… and in less than a week to boot…

Anyways, housekeeping: **Haters! **You know who you are. The people that just hate characters, yeah, you. Listen up, this story isn't for you. I **do not **hate characters and I **will not **character bash… ever. The characters have flaws, yes, but until Kishimoto destroyed whatever character development he might have been giving them, most of these characters weren't that bad.  
I hate none of the characters. I hate what's been **done **with Sakura recently, (it's nothing like how she was acting in the beginning of Shippuuden and is almost _completely _out of character as far as I'm concerned), but I don't hate **Sakura**. The only character I could say I hate at all would be Sasuke, and that's because he's just suddenly being an all around douche for no good reason as well as stealing all of the 'screen time' with pretty crappy plotlines… **but **I'm _still _going to try and treat his character with respect regardless.

So please, if you're going to put something like 'She doesn't deserve him', please don't, it really just makes me want to put them together to spite you… so please don't tempt me.

---

I'm not really happy with the first portion of this chapter, it works and it gets the plot elements in that I wanted, but it's not _entirely_ In Character and it's a little _too _silly to fit in with the tone that I was aiming for… but, I can't think of a better way to do it… so it stays… damn.

Also, if you're still with me, there's not a whole lot of action in this chapter, just plot/character development. The punching and explosions will come next chapter.

* * *

Anyways, on with the fic!

**Chapter 2 – The Friends you Protect**

"Sakura-chaaan! I said I was sorry!"

The pink-haired girl 'harumphed' and crossed her arms, turning away from her teammate pointedly.

She didn't stop walking beside him though.

Hinata couldn't help the giggle that escaped her at Naruto-kun's absurdly pitiful look, if she'd thought it serious for a second she'd have been admonishing Sakura-san in an instant… but right before he'd started pouting at his teammate's back he'd thrown a wink at her.

She might not have been as good at reading people as her cousin, but Hinata had been trained as any other Hyuuga in the arts of reading the subtle ticks of someone's body language.

And even she, the failure and outcast of the Hyuuga, could read Sakura-san like a book.

The girl was more embarrassed than anything else, and her anger had faded after the first couple of minutes, now she was just doing this for fun. Hinata might've been angry if the girl had been doing it and Naruto-kun hadn't known she was playing.

But he did, and the two of them almost made it a comedy routine.

Naruto-kun's eyes narrowed a bit at Sakura-san's latest 'rebuttal', almost saying _'Oh? So _that's _how you want to play it huh?'_

Then, that dangerous tinkle appeared again.

Naruto-kun did a little spin… pirouette… thing, and ended up in front of Sakura-san. As he walked backwards, he clasped his hands beneath his chin and sent a sad, soulful look in the pinkette's direction. The girl wavered for a moment, but stood strong, raising her chin higher in the air, though it was obvious she wasn't trying to smile.

Then Naruto-kun brought out the big guns, his lower lip quivered and the blonde's voice was woefully sad, "Do you hate me Sakura-chan…?"

Hinata was sorely tempted to smack Sakura-san to get her to forgive him, and the look wasn't even directed at her! Hinata had to cover her smile with a hand; _that_ was fighting dirty.

The look on Sakura-san's face was _priceless_, she was trapped and she knew it. Admitting she didn't hate the blonde would mean she'd lost the little game they'd been playing, but there was no way she could tell Naruto-kun she hated him, _especially _to _that_ face.

---

Sakura was saved from having to answer the question by a collision.

Namely, of Naruto into a poor bystander who was window-shopping at the time.

None of their little group had noticed the person standing in front of the store. Naruto had been too focused on pouting at Sakura, Sakura had been focused on trying to think of a way out of her 'predicament', and Hinata had been too focused on both of them (mostly Naruto).

Naruto and the young man he'd ran into turned to apologize at the same time, pausing when the other looked familiar. Hinata and Sakura had recognized the boy Naruto had run into instantly, though it took both of them a long moment to recognize each other.

"Naruto!"

"Ah! Chouji!"

Naruto's face had just started to break out into a smile when the larger boy swept him up in a hug, actually lifting him off the ground for a moment.

Naruto… didn't know how to respond to that, and it showed on his face when Chouji set him down.

Deprived of any meaningful physical contact for much of his life, the boy just didn't know what to do.

Chouji, far more insightful than some people would assume, noticed the blonde's discomfort and made an educated guess how to ease it.

"You!" the large boy assumed an exaggerated pose, pointing a finger accusingly at a now startled Naruto.

Blinking, Naruto pointed to himself.

"Yes! You! You _disgrace _the beauty of armor!" Chouji assumed an exaggerated Kabuki stance (a feat in of itself), one hand held back high above his head, the other still pointing at the blonde in front of him, "Armor is only meant to be worn by the pleasantly plump! You with your wiry muscles are not _worthy _of such beauty as armor!"

Naruto blinked again before a grin spread across his face, he quickly tried to cover it with an angry scowl, but it didn't work, "You! You insult me! You _dare _to say that _I _am not worthy of armor! _You _sir disgrace the beauty of armor!"

Chouji blinked once before a hand slapped to his chest, aghast, "Me?! Who are _you _to accuse _me _of disgracing the beauty of armor?!"

The corner of the blonde's mouth couldn't stop twitching as he fought his grateful smile, "Who am I? Who am I?!" the blonde began a little dance that some would recognize as Jiraiya's own introduction skit, "I am the Orange Maelstrom! The Man of Many Armies! The Unpredictable Ninja! I am Uzumaki Naruto! Future Hokage! And _**I **_question your choice! Not of armor, but of color!"

The large ninja gasped in mock horror, "You question the _color_?! Of my armor! You fiend!"

"BWUAHAHAHA!!!" By this point there weren't too many people in the 'audience' that could keep a straight face as Naruto planted his fists on his hips and laughed into the sky, "Yes! I question your choice of color! Silver upon red are not the colors a shinobi should wear!"

At this one, Chouji's eyebrow actually twitched, "No! That is where I draw the line! I shall not stand for my beautiful armor to be disgraced in such a fashion by you! I challenge you Uzumaki Naruto-!"

For a brief instant, everyone felt as if the larger ninja was serious.

Then he continued, "-to an eating contest!"

The groans could be heard several streets over.

Naruto pretended to be serious, "As my right as the challenged, I declare our weapons of choice to be the delicious ramen at Ichiraku Ramen."

Chouji nodded, seriousness radiating from his every pore, "Then I shall decide the time. Tonight. At sunset. Do not be late Naruto."

"I'll be there Chouji. Believe it."

---

"Naruto, you are _such _an idiot."

The blonde waved a hand dismissively, "Nah Sakura-chan, you're just jealous of my amazing people skills."

Sakura-san rolled her eyes and shook her head, "Oh certainly Naruto, I'm totally jealous of your ability to shout out at the top of your lungs. What about you Hinata? Are you jealous of Naruto's ability to say stupid things real loud?"

Hinata suppressed her giggles long enough to send a 'sly' glance at Sakura-san, "I-I don't think so Sakura-san, Chouji-kun _did _challenge Naruto-kun to a d-duel…"

Naruto-kun grabbed his chest, a gasp 'escaping' him, "No! Not you too Hinata-chan! You wound me so!" he grasped at the air for a moment, "No… it's all fading away…! It's going dark!" and promptly fell over, his tongue lolling out of his mouth.

While Hinata had to cover her mouth with both hands to keep her giggles contained, a very unladly-like snort escaped Sakura-san even as she smiled, "Naruto…"

The blonde's head immediately snapped up, a wide grin on his face, "Hey, it's got you laughing doesn't it?"

Shaking her head, the pinkette walked over to Naruto-kun, hooking her fingers into the front of his cuirass and pulling him up off the ground, "Yeah, but I'm ashamed of myself for it," Naruto-kun stuck his tongue out at her as she set him on his feet.

Hinata knew that Chouji-kun had acted silly to try and alleviate Naruto-kun's discomfort… but as Naruto-kun dusted himself off, she tried to figure out why the larger ninja had chose Naruto-kun's armor.

Maybe it was because their armors were surprisingly similar? Actually, that might've been it. While the colors were very different, the actual styles were reasonably similar. Naruto-kun's shoulder-plates were larger and he'd forgone the thigh guards in favor of a pair of greaves, but otherwise there were few differences.

That and his cuirass was much more form-fitting. She meant absolutely no offense to Chouji-kun with the thought, but it was quite a bit more attractive on Naruto-kun.

"Neh, Sakura-chan?"

"Yeah Naruto?"

"Any chance we could put the date off till dinner? If I want to beat Chouji, I'm going to have to save up space," the blonde patted his stomach and smiled shyly at the pinkette.

Sakura-san shook her head but smiled at him, "Sorry Naruto, as much as I would _love _to see you stuff your face as fast as you can, I've got a shift at the hospital tonight, so maybe later when we don't have a mission."

Naruto-kun blinked before _smiling_ at her, "It's alright Sakura-chan, I understand."

Both Sakura-san and Hinata blinked at that. Naruto-kun hadn't just accepted that Sakura-san couldn't join him, he'd _accepted _it. There hadn't been any sadness or rejection in his tone, but… pride? Happiness for Sakura-san? Hinata couldn't tell; she'd _never _heard that tone from Naruto-kun before.

Apparently neither had Sakura-san, "Naruto…" the pinkette suddenly gave him an affectionate smile, "You really _have _grown haven't you?"

"I'd like to think so Sakura-chan… I really would…"

---

As Naruto and her waved goodbye to Sakura-san, Hinata just _knew _the blonde was about to apologize to her.

"Heh, sorry 'bout that Hinata-chan," and she hadn't been wrong, now he was going to explain nicely that he didn't really want to go out to eat without Sakura-san, "Sakura-san's kinda right, even if I pay for it, making you watch me stuff my face wouldn't be a good apology."

'_He's trying to let me down gently… you really _are_a kind person aren't you Naruto-kun…?' _She smiled gently at him, "I-It's alright Naruto-kun, i-it's no problem…" even as her heart was breaking.

"Nah, it's not right to keep a lady waiting, so I'll just have to take you somewhere nicer later, kay?"

Hinata had actually opened her mouth to reply to what she'd _known _Naruto-kun was going to say before his words registered, and her thought processes came to a crashing halt.

'_D-Did Naruto-kun j-just ask me on a d-d-date?!' _"N-N-Naruto-kun…?!"

There was no way! He couldn't have just asked _her _of all people out on a date! She was the Hyuuga failure! Her little sister had taken her spot as clan heir! Her little sister that she'd never beaten! Naruto-kun had to be doing this out of some sense of regret, or-or duty! Yes, that was it! He was doing this because he'd felt he'd wronged her! She might not have much in the way of pride, but she wouldn't take Naruto-kun's pity!

"N-N-No i-it's okay N-Naruto-kun, y-you d-don't have to do anything l-like that!" She _tried _to make her voice strong, she _tried_, but it came out horribly weak and high pitched, that and her face was probably turning ten different shades of red by now, she was just mortified with herself.

He blinked and Hinata watched his face, reading the emotions that ran across it in the brief moment before he answered.

One eyebrow went up and his eyes narrowed in confusion, his blue eyes studying her and her expression. Then both his eyebrows went up and his eyes returned to their normal size as he seemed to understand. Then his smile widened and a familiar twinkle appeared in his eyes.

He turned his face slightly to the side and his chin down, a smirk appearing on his lips. In that moment, with the afternoon sun playing across his tanned skin and making his already bright eyes _shine_, Naruto was simultaneously the most beautiful and handsome thing Hinata had ever seen.

"You're forgetting something important Hi-na-ta-chan," he drew out every syllable of her name slowly, making her blush darken with every sound.

It took her almost ten seconds to realize that he wanted an answer, "W-W-What i-i-is that N-Naruto-kun…?"

The whiskered blonde leaned in, pressing the tip of his index finger to her nose, "I _want _to."

Hinata fainted.

---

'_I… really should've expected that…'_ he sighed as his fingers played with the unconscious Hyuuga's bangs.

The girl had fainted the last time he'd gotten that close, what had made him think it wouldn't happen _this _time?!

Nothing, he hadn't really been thinking about it that much in the first place.

Naruto scowled slightly, when the girl had insisted that he didn't have to buy her a nice dinner, he'd been afraid that she wasn't willing to spend time with _him _without other people like Sakura nearby. But he'd noticed the slight, probably unconscious, emphasis on the word 'have'.

After a brief instant of puzzling over that, he'd remembered that this was the one girl that'd been _nice _to him before his trip with Jiraiya-san, it was a large part of why _he _was trying to be nice to _her _actually… but remembering that and how, happy she'd seemed when he'd invited her to lunch, it just hadn't seemed likely that she would turn down his offer of a date…

So he decided to take her words at face value, she didn't want him to do this because he felt he _had _to. Which, while he did, was only part of the equation.

He'd reminded her of the other part.

The part where he actually _wanted _to spend time with Hinata.

And he really did! She'd never been anything but kind to him, and she was cute too! She'd really grown over the past two years; physically she'd matured more than Sakura.

Naruto liked the sound of her laughter and she was _really _cute when her cheeks were a softer shade of pink… though he really worried for her health when her entire face turned tomato red. It looked like it was going to be fun trying to figure out just how much he could tease her before she fainted.

Her outfit though… it needed black… and orange if he could manage it… and he still needed to evaluate her abilities…

Naruto ever so briefly cursed the training that Gnarl had given him. He didn't _want _to think about this, he _wanted_ to just enjoy spending time with his friend.

But just spending time with her wouldn't keep her safe. A good friend would think about this, would help their friends be stronger, would _protect_ them.

Hinata had been kinder to him than even Sakura, his teammate. Only Iruka-sensei and Gnarl had been kinder, only they would be saved before Hinata.

Naruto considered her his friend.

He would protect Hinata.

No matter what.

Naruto's finger slowly traced the contours of her face, it was harder, stronger than he'd remembered… but she still kept a bit of baby fat, it made her face smooth and rounded just a hint… he liked it, she made it look good… almost… angelic…

No… not angelic… Gnarl had shown him pictures of angels, and while they were beautiful, they looked so… _cold_, hard, imperious, _snooty_. Hinata looked like none of that.

She looked… she looked like the child of a Fae, one of the creatures of magic that embodied nature. He liked that analogy, nature was beautiful, dangerous, but man had subjugated much of its power. And Naruto would do the same with her.

If she was weak, he would bring her under his control, bring her under the embrace of the Ninja-Overlord as he had with the power of life-force or as man had domesticated the dog. If she was too strong, too wild, too much a greater force of nature for him to control, then he would be content knowing that even if he could not protect or strengthen her, she would be strong enough on her own.

Naruto was afraid that Sakura fell into the latter category, or, at least her anger did. He'd _expected _to get hit or slapped when he'd first made those comments to Konohamaru, he just hadn't expected Sakura to be _able _to hit as _hard_ as she did.

'_An angry Sakura's almost as scary as a serious Jiraiya-san…' _unbidden, the image of Sakura punching the ground in the beginning of their match with Kakashi-senpai came to mind, _'At least she didn't hit me __**that **__hard…'_

Since then, he'd avoided getting her that angry or teasing her to the point that she reacted violently to cover it up.

He was happy to note that the girl _was _harder to anger than he remembered, or at least she seemed more willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. The latter was most likely considering that he was more sensitive and… well, less of a loud dumbass than she remembered. He'd made a reasonably good 'second first impression' if her comment about him 'going and destroying her new-found respect for him' was anything to go by.

First impressions counted for a lot.

Naruto's fingers slid from Hinata's face to slowly run through her hair, almost unconsciously.

'_Weights would be good for Sakura… she could wear them while working at the hospital with no problem and they would increase her speed greatly… though maybe not her strength (not that it needs it). If I'm remembering my chakra-theory correctly, then much of her strength is based off the concussive force of properly applied chakra being channeled through her bones and muscles to be converted almost entirely into kinetic energy… and since her chakra control is already 'perfect' it's unlikely that her strength would increase due to wearing weights…'_

A curious thought went through his head, _'Unless her ability to convert chakra to kinetic energy is based on her musculature, then the weights would help with her strength as well…' _the blonde blinked in contemplation before shuddering.

Now _that _was a scary thought, Sakura stronger than she was already? Terrifying.

A soft, bell-like sigh made Naruto's attention snap back to the girl beside him.

His hand had gotten around to cradling her cheek in his palm and his thumb had been running back and forth over her lips (Bad hand! Bad!), thankfully the girl hadn't awoken just yet. But… was she kissing his thumb?!

A slight shade of pink settled onto Naruto's face and he slowly pulled his hand away from the sleeping girl's face, a small smile appearing on _his_ face when she tried to nuzzle into his palm as it was pulled away.

Naruto put both of his hands into his lap and intended to keep them there this time, no more touching the cute girl… no matter how much he wanted to.

After she'd passed out, he'd carried her to one of the parks near the center of Konoha, he didn't know when she'd wake up and didn't know whether she'd want to go home (which may or may not be in the Hyuuga complex), to the Yamanaka Flower Shop, or stay with him as he waited for sundown… which was actually pretty close by now.

Training Field 3 was on the opposite side of Konoha from Ichiraku Ramen, and at the pace Sakura and him had set, they would've gotten there by lunch time. Thing was, running into Shikamaru and Temari, then a fainting Hinata, then Chouji, it'd almost been one o'clock by the time Sakura had left to go to the hospital.

Now, he was sitting on one end of an out-of-the-way bench with Hinata stretched out beside him, he'd taken off his normally ever-present scarf and bunched it up beneath her head to give her some version of a pillow.

He'd been _tempted_, oh so tempted, to lay her head on his lap, but he'd learned that even though he could get away with more 'perverted' things than Jiraiya-san usually could, less was almost _always _more when it came to women.

An appreciative glance here or there to let them know he found them attractive, _real_ smiles, and the occasional compliment went a lot farther than Jiraiya-san's methods… as long as he wasn't trying to get them into his bed, then Jiraiya-san's _real _methods were actually pretty damn good, but Naruto still didn't like them. He did **not** want a woman just to warm his bed.

"Mn…" Naruto glanced at the girl beside him; she seemed to finally be waking up, and he had trouble identifying the emotion that pressed upon him ever so slightly, _'… darn?'_

"… _Naruto-kun_…"

Whoa… he'd _never_ heard someone say his name like _that _before! Soft, breathy, affectionate… he was sorely tempted to see if he could get her to say it like that just so he could hear it again.

Sadly, the Hyuuga's face scrunched up just a bit before her eyes fluttered open, a cross between a scowl and pout appeared on her face, her lips pursing in confusion, "Mn…?"

Naruto beamed at her, she really _was_cute, "Morning Hinata-chan."

She blinked a couple times in confusion before realization dawned on her face and she shot up, her face quickly approaching Tomato-red, "N-N-Naruto-kun!"

Naruto couldn't help it, he laughed just a bit at the look on her face, "Y-Yes Hinata-chan?"

"I… I-I'm sorry!" the girl quickly bowed in apology, a little awkwardly since she was sitting at the time.

The blonde couldn't help but shake his head at her, "What _for _Hinata-chan? _**I**_ don't remember you doing anything you need to apologize for."

"B-But…"

"Hinata-chan, all I remember is running into my friend, taking her away from her plans for the day, and carrying her around because I made her faint," he smiled warmly at the Hyuuga.

Her mouth worked soundlessly for a moment before her chin tucked in towards her chest, her face a brilliant shade of pink, "O-O-Okay… Naruto-kun…"

With a grin at her, Naruto picked up his now unused scarf. As he unfolded it from its ad hoc 'pillow transformation', he discovered a suspicious strand of blue-black hair and smiled a bit as he pulled the strand out of the folds of the scarf.

---

Hinata was _mortified._

Not only had she fainted in front of Naruto-kun a _third time _in a single day, but he'd taken _more_ of his time to carry her somewhere and make sure she was okay. He must think her a _pathetic_kunoichi, fainting at every chance she had. He had to be wondering how she could stand up in a fight if she couldn't' even stay conscious.

He kept _saying _that he wanted to do this, or that it was no bother, or that it wasn't her fault, but she knew better. It'd always been her fault before and it was now.

To be honest, she wasn't even aware that he'd pulled a hair of hers off his scarf when she blurted out, "I-I'm sorry!"

The blonde looked over at her curiously, "Neh? But I _like _your hair Hinata-chan…"

This had been so far off of what Hinata's mind had been focused on, she did little more than repeat the statement as a question, "Y-You like m-my hair…?" Back in the academy, the gossip mill had been running amok on 'what Uchiha Sasuke liked'. One of the more prevalent ones had been that he'd liked long hair, so, assuming that since Naruto-kun was the opposite of Sasuke-san, Naruto-kun must like short hair.

What none of the girls had known was that this was actually the complete opposite of how things were, something Sakura-san had found out while on a team with both boys. Sasuke-san actually liked short hair, while Naruto-kun liked it longer.

Immediately after finding this out, Hinata had started to grow her hair out, hoping that, just maybe, when Naruto-kun got back, it'd be enough for him to notice her.

_And it'd worked?!?_

"Yeah," the blonde nodded at her even as he wrapped his scarf back around his shoulders, "I like it better than the duck-butt style you had before."

Hinata's blush deepened further at the (sadly accurate) assessment of her hairstyle over two years ago.

His eyes closed in a thoughtful look as he tossed the ends of the scarf over each shoulder, "I mean, it was cute on you and all, but with your hair long you look…" he paused, searching for the right word.

'_Don't faint Don't faint don't faint don'tfaintdont'faintdon'tfaintdon'tfaint-'_

A warm smile spread across his face, "… you look like a young Yuki-onna."

Hinata blinked, he'd… he'd called her… a beautiful ice spirit…

Slowly a small, embarrassed smile of her own appeared on her face, "T-Thank you… Naruto-kun."

---

'_GAH! She's too cute!'_

---

"You're sure you want to come? I mean, Sakura-chan was right, this _is _going to mostly be Chouji and me stuffing our faces…"

"I-It's okay N-Naruto-kun… I d-don't mind… I-I haven't had lunch y-yet either," _'And I want to spend as much time with you as I can.'_

"Mm… then let me apologize now if we make you lose your appetite," he grinned sheepishly at her as they walked, his hands stuffed into his pockets.

She smiled, "I-It's okay Naruto-kun, I don't think it'll bother me much…" _'I can stand a little mess to be with you.'_

He paused just outside the awnings of their destination and, for the briefest of moments, there was a look of utter seriousness on his face, "I'm just hoping I don't scare you off…"

Hinata blinked at the blonde, but he'd ducked into the Ramen stand before she could respond, _'You'll never scare me off… Naruto-kun.'_

Taking a deep breath, Hinata ducked under the awning of the ramen shop after the blonde.

Naruto smiled at the already seated Chouji, who smiled right back. They both knew they didn't _really _have to do this, but they both wanted to. Hey, it was Ichiraku Ramen, of _course _they wanted to!

"What, no moral support?"

"Ino said she 'didn't want to see me stuff my face' and Shikamaru said it'd be too troublesome," the larger nin smiled warmly at Naruto, "Though I see you brought your own," a nod towards the Hyuuga, "Good evening Hinata-san."

"Good evening Chouji-kun," Hinata bowed slightly in greeting before following Naruto's example and taking a stool, taking the one on Naruto's right on the other side of him from Chouji.

"Oi! Ojii-san!"

"Wha-? Who's calling me old?!" the owner of the stand popped out from the kitchen, but the beginnings of a glare that were on his face quickly disappeared once he recognized the speaker, "Ha! Ayame! Come look who's here!"

"Huh? What do you mean…?" the brown haired girl popped out right behind her father, taking a moment to recognize the wildly grinning blonde at the counter, but once she did, she broke out into a wide smile, "Naruto!"

"Hey Ojii-san, Ayame-chan!" Naruto threw his arms out wide, careful not to hit the two people on either side of him, "I'm **back**!"

The girl laughed happily, "Looks like I can open that college fund again, eh?" Naruto stuck his tongue out at the girl.

Teuchi smiled, clapping his hands together once, "This calls for a celebration! First bowl's on the house!"

However, Naruto waved it off, much to the surprise of both chefs, "Nah, I'll have to take a rain check on that bowl… I'm here for a competition!"

The two chef's shared a glance, looked back at Naruto, shared another glance, looked back and noticed an Akimichi beside their favorite customer, then shared another, final glance.

"I'll start the noodles!"

Ayame disappeared back into the kitchen as Teuchi went to the counter, pulling a notepad and pencil from the pouch on his apron, "What'll you two be having for this contest?"

The two contestants glanced at one another, Naruto speaking first, "Miso, pork, chicken, repeat?" Chouji considered this for a moment before nodding in agreement and Naruto turned towards his other companion, "What about you Hinata-chan, does pork sound okay?"

She nodded quickly at that, a small hint of pink on her cheeks.

Naruto grinned at her before blinking and turning back to Chouji, "Loser pays?" At his nod, Naruto turned to Teuchi, "The loser will pay for us, and I'll be paying for Hinata-chan."

Said girl flushed a darker shade of red, and the owner raised an eyebrow at the blonde, a mischievous grin on his aged face. Naruto gave him a surprisingly eloquent glare, _"Don't even __**think**_ _about it."_

Intelligently, the older man didn't say anything about that and instead yelled back into the kitchen, "Miso, pork and chicken! And lots of it!"

---

"Ooooooh…"

Hinata _stared _at the two boys beside her.

She'd _known _that Naruto could eat a lot, and that Chouji ate a lot regularly, but to actually _see _it (without using the Byakuugan to spy on the blonde from afar) was something else _entirely_.

How'd they fit it all?!

Especially Naruto, considering that he'd _won_, in an _eating contest_, against an _Akimichi!_

The blonde was absolutely _amazing_.

In a surprising victory of 41 bowls to 39, Uzumaki Naruto had out-eaten Akimichi Chouji.

A small crowd had actually gathered to watch and started betting by the tenth bowls. Now money was being exchanged back and forth as the two boys groaned. Chouji's armor had enough give to it to contain his slightly larger girth, but Naruto had had to loosen the straps on his more form fitting armor to accommodate his distended stomach.

Naruto let his face drop into his empty bowl even as Chouji groaned.

Hinata had finished her bowl before the boys had even got to bowl five, but the teenagers had actually eaten with surprising decorum. It could be expected of the noble-raised Hinata to eat daintily, but the boys, by some unspoken agreement, had eaten quickly, but cleanly. There hadn't been any flying noodles or splashing of broth… thankfully.

Chouji struggled with his pouches till he pulled out his (butterfly-themed) wallet. Naruto (very briefly) considered poking fun at it, but decided that it was not a good idea to seriously bad-mouth the ninety some odd kilograms (200 lbs) of solid muscle and armor beside him. It'd be like picking on a sumo-wrestler just because he decided to wear a pink shirt, you just don't do it.

Still, "Neh, Chouji?"

The larger nin paused in his counting of bowls and calculation of expenses, "Yeah Naruto…?"

He grinned at his large friend, "I was just going to give this to you when the group got together again, but you can consider this your consolation prize," the blonde rummaged around in the pouch at his hip before pulling out a small scroll, "Here, for being a good sport."

The chubby nin blinked in mild confusion before taking the scroll carefully, wary of any pranks. He slowly unfurled it, his earlier discomfort at being full seemingly vanishing, he carefully scanned the first few lines of the scroll, fully expecting something silly or possibly something nice but foolish.

His eyebrows went up when he realized what he'd been given.

"Naruto… this…" he turned towards the blond, a slightly awed look of surprise on his face, "How'd you get this…?"

The other armored boy's eyes flicked towards the small crowd that was still exchanging money around them before he waved a hand dismissively, "Meh, just found that on the side of the road somewhere, thought you'd like it since you food and everything,

Chouji's eyes did the same before both boys looked over at Teuchi, the man had served ramen in a ninja village long enough to know that gaze.

"Oi! If you're not going to order something then get out! I don't need people loafing around, I've got paying customers to tend to!" the older man shooed many of the non-ninja out and within a minute, the three shinobi had a little bubble of silence at the now relatively quiet stand.

Hinata glanced curiously between the two boys, she knew Naruto had given Chouji something the other boy found impressive, but she had no idea what.

"Naruto… how'd you get a hold of a copy of the Kumo cooking-nin recipe list?"

_That _got Teuchi and Hinata's attention, though Ayame, who'd been listening in as well, didn't know what the big deal was.

The blonde smiled a bit, "When I visited Kumo with Jiraiya during our trip I was able to get some serious 'in's into their archives. I snagged that thing one time on my way out."

Chouji _blinked,_ "How? These aren't as important as they were now that there's solider pills, but they're still usually B-class secerets…"

Naruto gave him a foxy grin before putting his hands together, there was a puff of smoke and the blonde, armored boy was replaced by an equally blonde girl in a kimono.

His(her?) voice was soft, silky, and sultry, "This is a ninjutsu version of the academy's transformation, it doesn't hold up in a fight, but it's almost undetectable and as long as you don't forget any big details, is indiscernible from a real body. They usually don't frisk a ditzy blonde _thoroughly_ enough."

All four listening blinked a couple times at that before Chouji was the one to speak, "I… I really don't want to think too hard on that…"

"I completely agree kid, I completely agree."

Hinata stared at the blonde, "N-N-Naruto-kun…?"

"It's Naru**ko **Hinata-chan… Na-ru-**ko**. I don't feel comfortable referring to myself as a guy while I'm like this… speaking of which," she(he?) clapped her hands together, and with another pop and cloud of smoke, _she_ became a _he_once again.

All the while, Ayame was thinking one simple thought.

'… _kinky.'_

---

Naruto-kun finished waving to the back of a still slightly-awed Chouji and turned towards her, "Neh, Hinata, you heading home?"

'_Only if it's with you.' _The girl blinked and turned towards him, then looked up at the sky to judge the time. She'd known it was after sundown, the challenge had been set to _start _then, but from the looks of things it was already sometime around ten.

"Y-Yes… I h-have to…" she pressed the tips of her index fingers together and looked away, "S-Sorry…"

"Nah, it's alright, I'll just have to take you somewhere nice later then," he grinned at her (He was quite pleased with the color that flooded her cheeks, it gave her a healthy glow instead of making him want to run get a medic-nin like the tomato red did).

Her mouth worked silently for a moment, "R-Really…?"

"Yeah, promise."

She stared at him for a long moment. He… he really meant it, he really was going to take her, the Hyuuga failure, the unworthy daughter, the girl that wasn't worth training, that was sent to the academy because her father couldn't be bothered to train a disappointment such as her… he was going to take _her _out somewhere _nice_…

It finally processed.

She _smiled_, "Thank you, Naruto-kun."

---

'_GAH! How does she __**do **__that?!' _Naruto wasn't sure whether he wanted to keep making her smile like _that_, those smiles were like getting slapped in the face with a brick with raw cuteness, _'Those smile's should be S-ranked jutsu!'_

Even as he waved bye to the still smiling girl Naruto had to fight the urge to run back and snatch her up. The way her white eyes sparkled, the light flush of pink to her cheeks, it just made her _a lot_more attractive and made him want to grab her and use Jiraiya-san's perverted interrogation techniques on her.

He wouldn't of course, he wasn't a pervert like his sensei(s) and she'd neither expressed a desire to be on the receiving end of those techniques, nor had she earned it. As perverted as they were, to say they made women feel good was like saying the ocean was a bit wet.

She would only get those techniques if she _earned_ them _and _shown that she wasn't against having them performed on her.

He wouldn't _force_ something like that on one of his _friends, _never on one of them.

Just… how the hell did she get the wind to blow her hair _just right_ when she smiled?

---

Though Hinata's back was turned, though she'd turned down another street from Naruto-kun, though they'd already gone their separate ways, she watched him.

He was _back_, and he'd reminded her exactly _why _she loved him.

Naruto-kun had been kind to everyone he'd met, he'd cared for people, been considerate of their feelings, and had never stopped smiling. When he'd beaten Chouji-kun, he'd tried to make it up to the larger boy, despite having won fair and square. He'd happily accepted the rain check on hanging out with Sakura-san and actually seemed _proud _of the girl for choosing to work at the hospital instead of hanging out with him (something Hinata couldn't really understand). He'd insisted on not taking the free meal the owners of Ichiraku Ramen had tried to give him when they assumed he was going to pay, but when Chouji-kun had lost and started to pay, the blonde boy had insisted that his free meals be factored in.

He was so kind… so determined… he was _perfect_.

And Sakura-san had been _right!_

He'd _noticed_ her this time! She'd grown out her hair and he'd _noticed _her! He'd even insisted on taking care of her and paying for her meal!

So it was with a small smile that she let her head hang low, her bangs covering the bulging veins around her eyes.

She would watch Naruto-kun, she would watch and wait for her chance to _prove_ that she was worthy to walk beside him.

To be _with_ him.

To be someone he could like.

She would change, for _him_. She would no longer be the failure, the disappointment, the frustration of the Hyuuga… she would change… for _him_.

That night, Hyuuga Hinata had wonderful dreams.

* * *

Naruto woke up.

For a long moment he didn't move, his breathing didn't change, his eyes didn't flutter, he gave no indication that anything had changed.

His room smelled sterile. The smell of cleaning products was almost overwhelming, overlaying the hint of brimstone of the Reds and the smell of rain that accompanied the Blues. The clock by his bed was slowly ticking, the gears inside clicking and sliding together in a soothing rhythm. Somewhere outside his apartment there was a pair of older women gossiping… he couldn't make out their words from here though.

No heartbeat, no breathing, no new smells. He was alone.

Naruto opened his eyes.

There was no one else in the room. Good.

He reached out and grasped the hilt of Maelstrom, pulling the large blade into his lap as he sat up. He yawned, and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, his mind shifting into gear.

What were his plans for the day?

What hadn't he done yesterday?

Well, he'd never gotten around to pranking the ANBU for one… but he'd need a couple hours to do that properly. Oh, he could've pranked them in about thirty minutes, it was the after effects that would take a while. Intentionally letting them find him, leading them on a chase around town, then _letting _himself be captured so as to point out their flaws and weaknesses to their faces. Have a clone switch out with him while another transformed clone created a distraction, let the clone continue to berate them a bit more… then appear behind the group of ANBU and make a simple declaration: "You could be better. Let me help you."

With any luck, they'd let him have unofficial command of the ANBU right then and there, but it was more likely that they would just give him a certain degree of grudging respect and an unofficial advisory role.

It would be… impractical to be Hokage when the ANBU didn't respect you.

He would have to remind them that he was the _child _that had painted the entire Hokage monument without getting caught and evaded a number of Chuunin, Jounin and even ANBU for hours on end afterwards.

Naruto could… _content_ himself with an advisory role… for now.

He ran his hand through his hair and scratched the back of his head as he let out a yawn.

In all likelihood, the Akamichi had read through the scroll he'd given Chouji and found his _real_gift at the end. The recipe to Kumo's unique variation of the solider-pill. He'd had to use chakra to burn up the ramen and beat Chouji, otherwise he wouldn't have impressed them _nearly _as much, nor would he have had an excuse to give him the scroll as a consolation prize.

Naruto had been sure to include his notes on the effects it seemed to have and the differences between it and Konoha's version. He'd also been sure to note that he was _not _a medic nin and that his knowledge of anatomy was useful for little more than field medicine and knowing where best to stab someone.

However, he had still brought them the recipe and some basic information on an enemy secret that they had been trying to get for some time now. Unless he missed his mark, he was now more than just friends with the clan heir, he should now have the entire clan's respect and gratitude. This was good, the sooner he had the Akamichi happily on his side, the better.

He'd learned something interesting from the Netherworlds books and confirmed with his own experience with his Minions.

An army marched on its stomach.

Naruto didn't particularly _need _their power; _that_was primarily useful in large-scale invasions, something Naruto had Gamabunta for. But the Akamichi were the quartermasters of Konoha, the sooner they trusted his judgment and were not just willing, but happy to cater to his decisions and correct him on his mistakes, the better.

Finishing his yawn, Naruto swung his legs off his bed, moving Maelstrom to his back as he stood, his chakra reaching out to grip the blade without conscious effort.

Naruto stretched, running over his list in his head.

The Aburame wouldn't be hard to convince, a simple, logical argument would be enough to win them over. Show them that he was capable, intended to do what was best for his friends and Konoha, and they would follow him. Simple. Easy. Naruto Liked it.

With another yawn, Naruto headed into the adjoining kitchen in his apartment and scratched his stomach idly.

The Nara would be easy as well, don't give them a reason to oppose him and show that it would be far too troublesome to not help. Simple, and only slightly more difficult. He would have to show that he was the best choice for Hokage and that it was in their best interest to support him actively, or at very least not oppose him.

He didn't want a whole family of people who could plan like Shikamaru on his ass. No siree!

Naruto swept his hand along the top of his head, slipping of his favorite night-cap and hooking it onto the back of his chair as he passed it.

It was silly, he knew, but he loved the little thing. And if anyone except for his friends poked fun at it, they were getting punched in the face. Except Kiba, he'd probably still punch Kiba in the face. Guy should be tough enough to take it without too much trouble and he'd understand. The Inuzaka were cool like that.

A small smile worked its way onto Naruto's face as he opened his refrigerator.

To get the Inuzaka on his side, all he really had to do was beat up on their leader a bit, show he was actually pretty nice, and love on 'em a bit. Done. Undying Inuzaka loyalty, blue-light special on aisle 2.

The Yamanaka… Naruto just hoped they'd go along with the Nara and Akimichi clans… he didn't really know how to specifically ingratiate himself to the clan. Oh, he could be nice and everything, but their style of Pseudo-Genjutsu and Genjutsu just was beyond Naruto's ability to replicate, improve upon, or access similar techniques in other Hidden Villages… it was a serious pain in Naruto's ass, but he'd just have to wing it with them.

He'd have to make time this week to go by each of the clans in person… or have himself invited over by one of his friends… that sounded better and less intrusive, they would be more receptive to his advances in that case.

As Naruto sat down at his table, fresh milk and cereal in hand, he scowled.

Most of the major clans wouldn't be too large of an issue to convert, he _was _friends with many of the clan heirs. Nor did he think it would be very hard to integrate himself into the major military subsections of Konoha, such as the ANBU and Jounin subcultures, he already had an _in _to those in the form of Kakashi. Once he had that much support it should be a simple matter to sway the rest of the council.

That was not the issue, no, the reason he scowled as he ate his breakfast had two causes.

Namely, the Hyuuga and civilian populations.

The civilians would be a pain to change, their perceptions of him as a prankster and the Kyuubi would be exceedingly difficult to change. They were desensitized enough to the shinobi arts to not be awed by walking up a tree or some other feat of physical ability, but they did not have the skill or knowledge to recognize a truly impressive feat of Ninjutsu and be respectfully awed by that.

No… he'd have to do something major, a simple war on foreign soil wouldn't do, it needed to be immediate and personal to get their attention… but any things that would qualify as that, ran the risk of harming his friends as well. And _that_ was not acceptable.

Naruto set his spoon aside, picking up his bowl and drinking the leftover milk.

No, he'd just have to keep his plans flexible enough to capitalize on any opening to sway their opinions that he could find.

Setting his bowl and spoon in the sink, Naruto headed to the shower, leaning Maelstrom against the wall before tugging off his clothes, tossing his pajama bottems and boxers onto the floor.

As he turned on the water, setting the temperature _just _so, Naruto pondered his other problem.

The Hyuuga.

He'd made a promise to Neji that he would change the clan, and he _planned _to do so. Considering the information that he had gotten on them, Naruto had been tempted to just write off the Main Branch as collateral damage in the reconstruction of the clan. But Hinata had changed his mind.

Not intentionally mind you, but her very _presence_ had influenced his decision. She was _proof_ that not _all _the Main Branch members were assholes, and she would likely be saddened if Naruto… removed them… so it seemed Naruto would have to take the Hyuuga on a case by case basis.

Problem: Naruto didn't know how he was going to infiltrate and/or change the clan. They were a _Noble _clan, and Naruto had found that _Noble _clans were snooty twits with sticks shoved up their asses… sideways. Naruto didn't have _anything _that could automatically ingratiate himself, or even put himself on the same level as the Huuuga, at least in their minds. In the other instances, just being a Konoha nin and Jiraiya-sans apprentice had been enough. Here, they had preconceived notions of who and what he was.

It was… _troubling _that he could not think of an efficient and useful way into the Hyuuga… Especially with what the Main Branch had done not only to Neji and his kin, but to Hinata herself. Naruto had recognized the edges of neglect in her eyes, not to the same degree or intensity that he had experienced himself… but the same pain.

He _would _protect her, even from her own family if necessary.

With that somber thought, Naruto turned off the water and stepped out of the shower.

There was also the issue that he hadn't talked with Tsunade-obaa-chan yet… though it was likely he'd be talking with her today, it probably wasn't going to be the full debriefing that he'd want. He wanted to get a feel for how she'd changed and how likely it was that she'd just hand him the office.

'_Responsibility… changes people,'_ he reflected as he dried himself off, _'I'm proof of that… having responsibility to the Minion's… it changed me… how did being Hokage change you Obaa-chan…?'_

Naked aside from the towel thrown across his shoulders and the large black blade stuck to his back, Naruto strode back into his room.

(Thankfully for the majority of the female population of Konoha his blinds were drawn. He took after his father in a number of ways, and good food and hard exercise had done wonderful things to his figure. With his father's hair, his mother's intense eyes, and the strong lines of his father's face combined with the hint of his mother's gentleness, Naruto would've been more of a heart-throb that his dad if he ever gave himself the chance. Not that he knew that just yet)

---

The boy gave the straps of his cuirass a tug, ensuring the chakra and magic infused into them was kicking in and sealing it tightly against him.

'_There, that's done,' _he felt the weight of the seals settling on his limbs and it suddenly was like moving through particularly thick pudding, fighting it for every movement. He liked that feeling. It meant he was going to be just that much stronger at the end of the day.

He hadn't _dared _try and leave those on while fighting Kakashi-sensei; even by running his chakra through his limbs instead of through his armor the older man had _still _noticeably had him beat in the speed category. But if the man hadn't had considerable skill _and _the sharingan on him as well, Naruto was pretty sure he could've beaten the man in a taijutsu match.

That done, Naruto slowly ran through the seals for the Shadow Clone Jutsu, _all _of them instead of just the ad hoc cross seal that he normally used.

By going through the seals slowly to be sure they were perfect, Naruto improved his chakra control, getting the most out of the technique for the least amount of chakra.

But he only made one clone.

Naruto then ran through the seals for the summoning jutsu and touched the clone, sending it to the Netherworld.

He did this every morning. He split his chakra in half with the clone and sent it away. Then the one clone would split itself into thirty (the greatest number of shadow clones half his chakra could make that would be stable enough to last a day). Sixteen of those would each grab a different book on tactics, politics, history, or psychology and, after lunch, those clones would put down their books and start up a tournament… of games, Naruto was pretty sure today was chess day…

The reason was simple, they each read a different book to give them a slightly different perspective or mindset, and then played against the other clones (so he wasn't _exactly _playing against himself). The losers would study the others games until (eventually) one clone emerged the victor.

The tournament winner would then get to play against Gnarl in whatever game it was that they'd played… and usually lose. The aged Minion was _smart_. And wily. And experienced to boot.

Even if the Minion didn't know exactly how to play the game, he learned fast enough that he usually only lost once or twice at a new game.

Gnarl already knew most of the tactics and tricks the clones (and consequently Naruto) were learning and already knew the more practical applications. Naruto's clones were learning by using the stuff against each other, but Gnarl already _knew_ the stuff.

At the end of the day and game(s), the gaming clones would disperse, sending Naruto their collected experience, viewing a large number of games from almost every angle.

Naruto learned a lot from that.

Ten of the thirty clones would try to improve on his magic, something he had almost no talent for as Gnarl had been disappointed to find.

Yes, he had considerable stores of Mana even without the fox, and the Kyuubi was almost as great a source of _magical _power as it was of chakra.

But Naruto couldn't _use _it.

Chakra, was combining mental and physical energies in the proper amounts for a particular jutsu. Taijutsu was (usually) just drawing on your physical energy and converting it into kinetic hurt. Mana was drawing on and refining your mental and spiritual energy, pushing it through his link to the attuned spell stone in the Netherworld, then drawing back the further refined power, and releasing it from his body.

It was considerably more complex, at least from his point of view.

Naruto found the fireball and flamethrower spells to be surprisingly easy, throw his mind out to the statue in the Netherworld, draw in its power, and push it back out of his body. He had a sneaking suspicion that the Demon Fox (God) in his tummy was helping with that, fire and foxes went together surprisingly well.

Empowering his armor and sword was similar. He just touched the Netherworld with his mind and pushed his power into the Minion empowered metal. Once he started, the magical equipment kept drawing on his power until he cut it off (or, technically, once he ran out of Mana, but that was essentially impossible).

Supercharging his Minions was easy now that he'd practiced it enough, touch the stone in the Netherworld with his mind, push his power through it and throw it out at his Minions. Like the armor, they'd just keep drawing on it till he stopped it.

The spell he'd been working on when Gnarl had called a halt to Naruto learning new spells, and instead switched him to mastering the ones he knew, had been the Domination spell. Naruto just couldn't _get_ that one down. It was supposed to slowly break someone's will down till they served you happily and willingly, but Naruto just couldn't wrap his mind around the idea of reaching out to the stone, pushing his power through it, then pulling the power back through himself, _then _releasing that power from his hand and _forcing _it into someone else. He was just having so much trouble with it that Gnarl had called a halt to him learning new spells till he got the basics of spellcraft down pat.

Another Problem: He had trouble drawing on any significant amount of his power at once. He had lots of it, but he couldn't flood a spell with Mana like he could jutsu. Not because it was impossible, but because he just _didn't know how_.

Gnarl had said, sadly, that if Naruto had grown up being trained how to draw on Mana like he had with chakra in the academy, he'd be much more fearsome with the spells. As it was though, he'd passed most of the developmental years for magic and would be stuck with rather inflexible spells…

It was… infuriating…

It was also why he had ten clones working on it during the day.

His final four clones that would be in the Netherworld all day usually split their time between various chakra-control exercises, looking into how the Netherworld was managed, and studying things that wouldn't be good for tactics, like medicine, sealing, or chemistry.

But that was all background stuff for Naruto anymore, his chakra stores would be back to full in an hour tops, so he'd barely notice having his chakra 'cut in half' and could let his clones do their work on their own without thinking about it.

They _were _essentially him with all his memories and experience and such, but the original usually didn't bother with reading a book or scroll unless it was to keep up appearances. When the original got a chance to train, he usually did physical training, since clones couldn't train reflexes or muscles.

He'd have to remember to get some form of training group going with the rest of his friends, he could train himself _and _them at the same time!

A grin spread across his face at the thought as he approached a familiar alley.

---

"You're late!"

The masked Jounin scratched his head idly, "Well, this time I was delayed by filling out all the paperwork for the new team…"

Naruto stared at his sensei for a long moment before turning to the pinkette beside him, "Why is it, that despite the plausibility of his answer, I still think he's full of shit?"

"Oh let it go Naruto," Sakura admonished lightly, "We can't help it if he late every chance he can get."

Kakashi made a face (mostly under his mask and headband), _'I'm… losing my dignity aren't I…?'_

"It's not that he's _lying _to us, we're ninja, it's kinda what we do…" unnoticed by either of the teens, something in the air caught said Jounin's attention, "_My _problem is that his lies all _suck, _and even when he isn't lying you think he is!"

Sakura actually considered that for a moment, "You've got a point Naruto, neh, Kakashi-sensei…?" the pinkette turned towards their teacher, "Why _do _you do that Kakashi-sensei…?"

"Hm? Did you say something Sakura?"

"Kakashi-sensei!"

---

"Seriously Kakashi-sensei, how the hell d'you get away with being late all the time? I know you're an elite and all, but when I'm Hokage, I ain't going to stand for that shit."

"I actually _was _doing paperwork Naruto," the lazy-Jounin looked up from his book at the blonde, noting his disbelieving look, "It takes longer than you'd think to fill it all out."

"Then why don't you use some shadow clones to speed the process up? I know not everyone's got my kind of capacity and all, but as long as they don't do any major techniques or forcibly dispelled, you get most of the chakra back," he cocked his head to the side at the Jounin, "Making two or three clones would speed up the process by miles, so why don't you?"

Kakashi actually pulled his nose out of his book to give the boy a proud smile, though Naruto could only see his eye, "Well Naruto, the problem is that since the clones technically aren't _me, _they can't sign papers _for_me," trust Naruto to come up with an unusually effective solution right away, it'd taken Kakashi months to think of that.

Naruto scowled, "That's bull… a shadow clone is effectively you in most respects, but completely in the mental aspect. Paperwork doesn't care if you can't take a hit or are unable to restore your own chakra, so why the hell can't you do it?"

Sakura blinked, she hadn't known all of that about shadow clones, some of it yes, but not all. She'd been surprised that he'd stayed on Kakashi about being late, but he brought up a good points, especially now, and Sakura was interested in the answers as well. Just for curiosity's sake really, but she _was_ interested.

Kakashi… actually had to think about the answer for a second, "Well… the problem is that protocol just says 'clones', as most clones are capable of a certain degree of autonomy but nowhere near enough to justify letting them do paperwork. Also, you and a select few others in the village are capable of using the jutsu for such a, comparatively, frivolous task."

The masked Jounin tilted his head back, his eye closed in contemplation, "Yes, I believe that's it, protocol says 'clones' as in all clones and there hasn't really been a reason to make an exception for shadow clones."

With a snort, Naruto pulled a notepad from _somewhere _in his armor and began to scribble, he paused for a moment before looking to Kakashi, "Neh Kakashi-sensei, do you remember the name and number of that rule?"

Both of his teammates stared at him, "… what? I've gotta remember to change that first thing when I get the job, no way I'm going to just sit and do paperwork all day when I can totally do it faster _my _way."

Kakashi stared at the boy, "… Naruto… since when do you plan ahead…?" Sakrua blinked and turned to her sensei, didn't he realize that Naruto had planned a lot of their bell test…? Or… did he think _she'd _been the one planning…?

"Since I grew up…?" Naruto made it a question, probably (and actually) wondering the same thing as Sakura, "I'm not a kid anymore Kakashi-sensei…"

The Jounin suddenly became serious, "No… you're not… Naruto…"

"… Kakashi-sensei…?"

"… don't forget to _live_ Naruto…"

'_That's rich coming from __**you**__, __Kakashi,' _"I won't… sensei…"

* * *

Sakura was… confused? Irritated? She wasn't exactly sure, but it was something along those lines.

Now, Naruto had been a complete and utter idiot before his trip, he'd pranked people all the time in the academy, he'd painted the Hokage monument (which was actually pretty impressive now that she thought about it), he'd been loud and obnoxious, and a general pain in the ass.

But even assuming the Chuunin didn't know that Naruto had changed, _that _kind of look was completely uncalled for!

They'd walked to the Hokage's tower in a slightly awkward silence after Kakashi-sensei's comment, Sakura hadn't really understood why the Jounin had said that, of all the people she knew, Naruto was the _least_ likely to forget to _live_.

As they'd walked through the halls, the slightly somber look on the blonde's face had shifted to one of his best grins, she'd briefly considered that it might've been on of his fake ones, but discarded the thought. The smile reached his eyes, it wasn't as big as the grin on his face, but there _was_ a smile in his eyes.

The three of them had walked up to the doors of the Mission Assignment foyer, their spirits lifting, but when the pair of Chuunin guards had noticed them, they'd just been… ugh!

The one on the left had noticed them first and had given them a quick look, doing his job and stuff, making sure they weren't fakes. He hadn't recognized Naruto at first with his armor and sword, but had figured it out when his eyes had landed on Naruto's face. The Chuunin had been surprised, but had accepted who it was with just a brief glare at the over-sized sword on Naruto's back.

That was perfectly understandable, if you're guarding someone you don't want somebody to bring a giant weapon into the room with them.

No, it was the _other _Chuunin that'd been an _**idiot**_!

He'd done the same thing, not recognizing Naruto at first then figuring it out when he saw the blondes face, but then he'd _glared _at Naruto, as if he expected the boy to draw his sword right then and there!

Now, Naruto had pranked people and stuff back when he was little, but he'd never been malicious or anything! And that Chuunin was giving him a look like he expected Naruto to go crazy and kill people right then and there!

Sakura had been _very _tempted to deck the Chuunin.

There was no way Naruto didn't notice the look, anymore, he was _more _than observant enough to notice it, but he didn't say anything, just kept smiling. But a bit of the smile had left his eyes, and Sakura had felt her fists clench.

Thankfully, Kakashi-sensei had stepped in, giving the offending Chuunin a smile, "Neh, Daikoku-san? Naruto is pretty good, but if you're going to practice for the Jounin Evaluation, it'd be better to spar against me, neh?"

The implication set in and the man _paled_, "A-Ah… I-I see K-Kakashi-senpai… I-I-I understand."

((Unbeknownst to Sakura, Kakashi had seen the building explosion in the pinkette's eyes and had moved to stave it off. Normally, a ninja should be able to fend for him or herself, but not everyone could take one of Sakura's punches like Naruto.))

Inner Sakura decided to make herself known as the trio stepped through the doors, **'Shannaro! Ain't no one going to hurt **_**my **_**man!'**

Sakura chose to interpret that thought as _'No one is going to hurt _my_ teammate!'_

Then Naruto decided to make his presence known as they approached the assignment desk, "Morning Tsunade-Obaa-Chan! What mission's you got for us today?!"

Sakura decided to amend her earlier thought, _'No one's going to hurt my idiot of a teammate but me! … Tsunade-shishou would just kill him…'_

The pinkette snagged the blonde around the neck, drawing him into a noogie, "S-Sorry sensei! I'll sort him out!" _'I-Idiot! You've got no idea how terrifying the Goidaime is when you say shit like that!'_

Except… the Hokage didn't pound on him, or even yell at him, instead, her brown eyes went from the Kunoichi in front of her desk to the trio in front of her, "Team Kakashi," it was a call to attention.

Sakura immediately let go of Naruto's head, absently noting that he stood ramrod straight as well once let go.

"I have your new mission. Just now, a message came in that Suna's Kazekage was kidnapped by the Akatsuki," the trio stiffened slightly at the news, equally surprised looks on both Naruto and Kakashi-sensei's faces, "Your orders are to immediately head to Suna, find out the situation and relay it to Konoha, after that, follow the orders of Suna and back them up."

They each gave a quick nod, Naruto's face quickly becoming a scowl, "How much information do we have?"

"Only that the Akatsuki member used explosives of some kind."

The angry scowl deepened, "Then would it be possible to requisition a tracker type nin or team for this mission? Preferably a Hyuuga."

One of the Mission Assigners at the table scowled right back, "Why?"

Naruto's head snapped to the man, "If Gaara has been kidnapped it is quite likely that the enemy is taking him far away from Sunagakure to avoid interference with their plan. I would like a tracker of our own in addition to whatever Suna can provide. An Aburame wouldn't be very useful considering that they haven't tagged the Gaara, and I don't know how useful an Inuzaka's nose would be in the dessert, but I know Gaara well enough that I can tell a Hyuuga what to _look_ for."

The blonde turned back to the Hokage, "As such, I would like to requisition a team of tracker-types."

Tsunade-shishou nodded, "Reasonable. However, all of the tracker-type teams are currently indisposed and unavailable."

Naruto scowled, "Team Kurenai?"

"Just left on a week-long mission this morning."

"Damn," the frown on Naruto's face was considerable, "Understood."

Tsunade looked hard at Naruto, "Anything else?"

The boy shook his head.

"Alright then."

Team Kakashi nodded as one.

"**Dismissed**."

Kakashi shunshin'ed off with a small burst of smoke. Naruto clapped his hands together and four more of him blurred into existence, the original made a ram, then snake seal and disappeared in a burst of smoke, his clones leaping out the windows behind the desks. Sakura…?

Sakura… actually felt kind of silly walking out the doors at a quick pace.

* * *

"Alright, we're off," Naruto tugged on the straps of the large scroll on his back beside Maelstrom. Sakura assumed that it was some form of storage scroll, he _had _been traveling with a seal master for the past two years. Aside from that, he only had a canteen strapped to his left hip to offset the standard shinobi carrying pouch on his right.

Considering that Naruto had consistently shown surprising forethought in the past two days, Sakura had a feeling the canteen and pouch weren't normal either. You didn't go to the dessert with just a single canteen.

Kakashi-sensei and herself actually had sizable backpacks, packed mostly with filled canteens.

Sakura sent her sensei a quick salute, "Ok Tsunade-shishou, off we go."

The pinkette watched a quick, silent communication pass between Iruka-sensei and the Goidaime before the scarred man gave them his own farewell, "Do your best!"

"Of course!" the blonde sent a quick grin back before taking a step forward. But only one step forward as he stopped and his head jerked up.

"Yo."

'**HOLY SHIT! Where the hell'd HE come from?!?! I'll kick his ass for startling me! Shannaro!!!'**

"Going on a mission, eh Naruto?"

"Heh," the blonde _smirked_.

"Mm, more importantly," the Toad Sage turned towards Tsunade-sensei, "Tsunade, something terrible's happened, Suna's Kazekage-"

"I know…" the Hokage interrupted him as she scratched herself and pointed at Team Kakashi, "I'm about to send these guys off there now."

Jiraiya's face hardened, "Tsunade…"

"I know."

Jiraiya scowled and turned towards his apprentice, "Naruto?"

"I know, be careful about the Akatsuki. I'll get the hell out of there if things get too rough, but… they've got one of my friends Jiraiya-san," Sakura… had never seen her friend so… _serious _before. On his more mature, yet still boyish face, it was… strange, yet… it looked good, "I can't just let them take him."

After a moment, the Toad Sage nodded before turning away from the blonde, "Kakashi… Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid… He's all yours."

Kakashi-sensei gave Jiraiya what Sakura interpreted as his 'I-got-your-meaning,-I'll-be-serious-Smile', "Yeah."

Naruto was already on the move, "Kakashi-sensei, Sakura-chan, let's go."

A slight grimace settled onto Sakura's face before she fell into step behind him, "Right."

Kakashi gave the two Sannin (and one Academy Instructor) what amounted to an apologetic smile and wave, "See ya."

Within seconds of his footsteps following his students, they took off, almost literally, moving at a considerable clip down the road.

Iruka stared somberly at the retreating forms of two of his students, broken out of his thoughts by the Hokage's voice.

"… Worried?"

He considered the question for a moment, "No, he's… he's not the kind of weak shinobi I would worry about. Sakura too…"

* * *

"What?! You mean, Gaara…?!" the blonde kunoichi scowled at the dirt, "… I knew I had a bad feeling…"

Kakashi spoke in his mission voice, "… it'll take three days to get to Suna from here… let's hurry."

"… agreed."

The four figures blurred into movement.

---

Naruto clenched his fists tightly, feeling the bones and sinew creak under his own strength.

His friend, one of his few, precious friends, was in danger.

The **one**jinchuuriki he hadn't tagged! The _**one**_ Host he hadn't thought to seek out. The _**one**_ hidden village he hadn't visited!

Of _course _they were going after Gaara first! They'd **known **the Akatsuki were going to go in order for almost six months now! Why hadn't he just swung by to say hi?! _**WHY?!**_

"Naruto… just because I said to hurry, doesn't mean you should split up the team…"

He glanced back to find his teammates lagging behind and had to push down a frustrated growl, "We're not going _fast _enough…"

"Naruto… we can't go any faster and not risk hurting ourselves…"

"I **know**… but **I **can," his hands came up into a familiar cross-shaped seal and he shunted his chakra outwards. Two more Naruto's appeared in the trees, leaping beside the original. All three stopped on a branch, taking a knee, "Get on. I might be able to make it in two carrying you guys and I _know _it won't hurt me."

Sakura stopped beside one of the blondes, "Naruto…"

While Temari's eyes were worried and slightly hopeful, Kakashi's were as hard as steel, "Naruto, are you certain?"

"Positive."

After a moment's calculation, Kakashi nodded, "Move your sword and scroll to the front then."

Naruto did better than that, the blonde slid his scroll to the front and turned Maelstrom so it rested horizontally on his lower back, edge down, "There, a seat to boot, now let's _go_."

Sakura didn't hesitate more than a second before clambering onto the blondes back, gripping his shoulders as he hooked his arms under her knees.

Temari followed suit a moment later when the clone before her discarded its sword and scroll, which dispersed into smoke, at her slightly curious gaze, her Naruto simply said, "To make up for the weight of your fan and pack."

Kakashi declined, waving off the clone before him, "I can keep up with you for now. Don't waste the chakra on me." The clone nodded before dispersing itself, letting its chakra return to the original.

"Everyone settled then?" Naruto tried, he really tried to keep his voice controlled, but the edges of his impatience and anger were leaking in. Thankfully for all involved, they were ready, "_Good_."

Both Naruto's leapt off their branches with enough force to crack the wood beneath them, Kakashi catching up only moments later.

---

Despite his armor, despite his sword, despite his scroll, despite the young woman on his back, despite _her _pack, Naruto set a hard pace. A speed even Kakashi, more accustomed to moving in extremely fast but short bursts, knew he'd have trouble keeping up with for any length of time.

After one branch quite literally buckled beneath Naruto's feet, Sakura spoke up, "Naruto… what's wrong…?" She wasn't worried about her safety or 'chasity' when the hands on her knees tightened, she was worried about _Naruto_.

The boy was silent for almost a minute before he spoke, "I'm just so _angry_, not just at the Akatsuki… but myself…"

Everyone looked over at Naruto as he spoke, his voice quiet, "I've been to Iwa, Kumo, Kiri, and a number of other, smaller hidden villages… but I never thought to stop by Suna, not once. All the times I could've swung by to just say hi to one of my friends, to someone who _understood_ me… I never did."

He _growled _for a moment before stifling it, but it was enough to startle the women and briefly terrify Kakashi, "I could've prevented this… should've _known _they'd go after him, the pieces were all there! But I didn't see it! Now, one of my best friends, the one I understand the best… he's been captured by the Akatsuki."

After a second, Temari carefully asked, "Understand the best…?"

Naruto didn't speak for a long moment, considering exactly what he wanted to tell them right now. The boy wasn't sure Sakura wouldn't hate him, or at least shun him, for his secret, so, for now, he would withhold information on the Kyuubi.

"Gaara and I… we're a lot alike… our villages hated us just for existing. They tried to kill us in their own ways, Konoha tried to sabotage me at every step of my ninja training… Suna wasn't as subtle…" Sakura winced, remembering the gazes she'd occasionally seen directed at the blonde, "He was targeted by the Akatsuki, just like me…!"

His three companions stiffened slightly at the undirected killing intent that swept out of the blonde for just a moment, "And yet…! Why is it always _him _that gets the worst of it?! Why is it him, and him alone?!"

"… That's… That's why…! That's why I won't just sit around and wait for the report! That's why I'm going to be there for him! This time, I'll save him, and I'll make sure he _stays _saved!" the branch he'd just landed on exploded beneath him as he leapt, "This time, I'll save my friend!"

Naruto could feel the angry tears forming at the corners of his eyes, knowing that his clone was doing so as well. He didn't notice the tears of gratitude in the other blonde's eyes, _'Uzumaki Naruto… Thank you…'_

The pinkette on Naruto's back absorbed what her friend had said for several minutes before speaking, "Naruto…" he turned his head slightly, but didn't take his eyes off the branches in front of him, "… you've really been through a lot haven't you…?"

The tense silence was all the answer she needed, "Uchiha Itachi… you're his target aren't you…?"

If it'd been possible to stumble midair, Naruto would've done it.

"I wasn't just training these past two and a half years," Sakura gripped her teammate's shoulders tightly, "I was looking through Tsunade's notes and did as much research on the goings abouts as I could. The enemy Sasuke-kun wants to kill… it's really his older brother Itachi, a member of the Akatsuki, isn't it?"

Naruto… He didn't know how, maybe it was the fact that she could use a tree as a club, maybe it was that she still had the same temper as always, but he'd _forgotten _just how sharp his pink haired friend could be.

"Because of that desire, that motivation, Sasuke is now with Orochimaru in order to gain power…" she paused before continuing on, her voice as hard as the magically enhanced blade she sat on, "But Orochimaru only wants Sasuke's body, doesn't he? All we have left is half a year… and Orochimaru was originally a member of the Akatsuki…"

Her voice trailed off for a moment before she picked up strength again, "In other words, what I'm saying is this: As we get closer to the Akatsuki, we get closer to information about Orochimaru. And therefore, we get closer to Sasuke-kun."

Naruto _grinned _and focused his attention back ahead, "Two birds with one stone… I _like_ that."

For once, both sides of Sakura's mind agreed wholeheartedly and without the slightest hesitation, _**'This time, I **__**will**__** save those two.'**_

"But… Sakura-chan…" the pinkette's attention snapped back to the boy she was riding.

"I know I promised to bring Sasuke-teme back… but…"

"… Naruto…?"

The grip on Sakura's knees tightened for a moment before Naruto forced himself to relax, "Hear me out. Sasuke was my friend, and I'd like him to stay my friend… but he quite literally said he was cutting all his ties of friendship with me and Konoha…"

"We fought, and we're probably going to fight again when we meet again… but beating up on me, and hurting you… those are two _very _different things," Naruto turned his head to look Sakura in the eye, cerulean blue boring into green, "If he attacks you, or anyone else I consider a _friend_, he will have _lost_ his chance."

"Naruto, what… what exactly do you mean…?"

"I mean, if he attacks someone precious to me, I'm not going to go _out of my way_ to bring him back _alive_," he stared into her eyes for a long moment before turning back to the direction he was running, "I'm sorry. But _your_ life is more precious to me than _his_."

Sakura gripped his shoulders so tightly, they all heard his bones creak in protest.

In another world, in another time and place, Sakura might've gotten angry at Naruto, she might've been astonished that Naruto would even consider something like that, that Sakura might've shunned the blonde that she'd thought she knew.

This was not then or there, and this was not that Sakura.

This Sakura knew a Naruto that thought ahead, a Naruto that considered the consequences of his actions, a Naruto that had gone out of his way to help his friends. This Naruto didn't say stupid things that hurt peoples feelings while meaning well, this Naruto didn't miss stuff that was stupidly blatant, this Naruto knew what was going on in the world.

A Naruto that Sakura was finding herself _liking _despite her best efforts.

The pink-haired girl couldn't get angry or be shocked that this more pragmatic Naruto cared for her safety more than the crush she'd had as a kid.

When she spoke, her voice was strong, if soft, "Then… I guess I'll just have to be sure to save him before that huh?"

Naruto _smiled _at her, "That's my girl."

For a moment, Sakura beamed right back at him, then the meaning of his words sunk in, "Oi, watch how intimately you refer to me, idiot." The pinkette lightly thumped Naruto on the back of his head, just above the knot of his headband.

The blonde chuckled just a bit before admonishing his passenger, "Neh neh, is that any way to treat your ride?"

Sakura scowled playfully at the blonde, just as grateful as him for a way to diffuse the tense atmosphere, "Well you should be careful how you refer to a lady, idiot." The pinkette gave him a one handed noogie, gripping his shoulder tightly with her other hand to keep from falling off the still fast-moving blonde.

"Oi?! Do you _want _to get dumped on your ass?"

---

It was then, as Kakashi watched his two _former _students bicker back and forth, that the masked Jounin finally realized something important. He might've known it on an intellectual level for quite some time, but he'd never really _known it _in his heart.

Naruto… was Naruto. And Sakura… was Sakura.

Naruto wasn't Obito, or Jiraiya, or even Minato-sensei. He was just _Naruto_.

And Sakura, she wasn't Rin or Tsunade or anyone else. She was _Sakura_.

He'd always put people into these little boxes, it didn't always work and it wasn't really right, but it was what he'd done.

In his mind and heart, he had been teaching _his_team all over again.

Naruto had been Obito. The knucklehead, the idiot, the loud one. The dead-last.

Sakura had been Rin. The kunoichi, the one with the hair-trigger temper, the forgettable one. The fangirl.

Sasuke had somehow been a cross between Obito and himself. A loner with a troubled past, living in the past, an heir to the sharingan. The genius.

But now… now Kakashi knew, truly _knew_, deep down, that they weren't. They didn't fit in those nice little boxes.

Sasuke had been focused on revenge and anger, caught up with all his own troubles without any _real _support. Kakashi had tried to provide some, but it hadn't been enough to keep Orochimaru's offer from looking too promising.

Sakura had taken it upon herself to become stronger; it had been under almost entirely under her own power that she'd gotten her skill and power. The Goidaime had guided her through her growth, but it'd taken Sakura's drive to get there. She wasn't going to sit there and be rescued, not anymore. She would not be forgotten.

And Naruto… Uzumaki Naruto, the number one most unpredictable ninja Kakashi had ever met. He wasn't an idiot, he was becoming his own kind of unconventional genius. From what he'd heard from Jiraiya and seen himself, Kakashi knew that Naruto had considerable talent for subtle manipulation, he'd _seen _the boys potential in close combat, been on the other side of his growing tactical ability…

Naruto… was going to be the next Hokage…

Kakashi would have to remember not to be late to his coronation, the boy had sounded _serious _about not standing for that shit.

'_Memo to self: Retire ASAP after Naruto becomes Hokage.'_

* * *

**A.N.)- **Okay, a comment by lucas13 caught my attention, and I'm going to answer it here:

---

Just let me get something straight... Naruto has been training with weights for almost three years... not to mention the gravity seals... and hes able to get faster using chakra... and he is still only as fast as Lee with his weight on??!?!?! What the Hell!?!?!

---

Okay, that's a vaguely reasonable statement if you think I meant Gennin-Lee, but I didn't. It was supposed to be _Sakura _thinking about that stuff, and she was comparing Naruto to the Chuunin Lee that she knew. Now, to be sure you understand that, Naruto is about as fast and _is _as strong as Weighted-Chuunin-Lee, the guy who was fast enough _as a Gennin_to make Kakashi use his sharingan to really see him, the same guy who became Chuunin _entirely on being able to punch stuff in the face __**real good**_. Think about that.  
Now, I'm going to assume that Rock Lee is notably stronger, faster, and generally more whup-ass than he was as a Gennin (same thing with all the Konoha 11). I'm also assuming that Lee has done more pure physical training than Overlord!Naruto (who's focused more on training his brain so far).  
Now, Naruto has had to not only condition his body in the 'timeskip', but he's also had to relearn Taijutsu (I'm assuming the instructors at the academy generally tried to sabotage his learning and that Naruto's _mostly_just been winging it on some degree of talent and copying other ninja) and learn/develop Kenjutsu from scratch(because there really _isn't_a school of kenjutsu for swords that big).  
So, I'm assuming the reason he _can _keep up with Weighted-Lee is because he's using chakra primarily to enhance his speed rather than his power.  
Now, this is all assuming that Lee can pretty much beat _anyone _in a straight up taijutsu match, excluding Gai. Even Tsunade with her super-strength wouldn't really beat an Unweighted-Lee if she wasn't allowed to use her other tricks. Now, Lee has Naruto beat in taijutsu _**skill**_, he knows a whole lot more forms, stances, and general ways to hurt people with his fists&feet than Naruto, but Naruto is able to (mostly) keep up with him in terms of physical conditioning.  
Of course, Naruto has a much bigger bag of tricks that 'Punch something in the face real hard', so he'd still beat Lee any day of the week in a real fight. Thing is, in taijutsu, Naruto is pretty damn impressive, that was the _whole point_ of Sakura's observation.

Now, as Jiraiya said, Naruto is a power-type, stronger than he is fast. I'm assuming that Lee is actually a speed-type, he's pretty strong, but once those weights come off he's _absurdly _fast, like, as fast as it is humanly possible to be (without chakra). The fact that Naruto _can _almost keep up with a weighted Lee is amazing.

So yeah, Naruto _is _'only about as fast as Lee with his weights on'.

---

Oh yeah! By the way: **My writing philosophy:  
**The story and plot are merely delivery systems for the characters. If your characters are shit, then the story is shit. Doesn't matter how good everything else is, if the characters are flat and uninteresting, no one will want to read your story. **ERGO: **In my story, characters come first. I try to keep my timeline/plot in mind when I write out the plans for the next chapter(s) and character development will beat out fight scenes any day of the week.

---

Anyways: Chapter… COMPLETE!!! AUTOBOTS, ROLL OUT!!!

Ja ne,

Andoriol


	4. Red Dawn

**A.N-). **I am officially a review junkie. I love those things. They make me want to write more and more. *Hint hint, wink wink, nudge nudge*

**ALRIGHT!!!**: _Officially_, my whole 'How evil do you think Naruto should be?' and 'What do you think the pairing issues should be?' is over. The votes are in…! And I don't really care. Yes, they influenced my decision, but I had it done mostly to force me to think it out myself and get arguments on one way or another from you guys. Officially, you aren't privy to what the pairing chart will eventually be aside from Naru/Hina, unofficially, I'm just winging it.

**ALSO!!! You out there who don't like Naru/Hina! Yes you! And the HATERS!!!**: I love you guys. Seriously, I do. You're entitled to your opinion (even if it's wrong :P), but the fact that you've stayed with me long enough to read this is an amazing compliment… or you're a masochist… but I prefer the former interpretation for obvious reasons. For those of you who don't like the pairing because it's overdone, hopefully I have some good news: This won't be a cookie-cutter/standard interpretation of the pairing. While Hinata is as close to canon as I can keep her at the moment, Naruto _isn't_, they're not going to magically fall in love and have lots of babies. It'll **look **like one in the beginning, but it'll start to show different shades relatively soon.

Oh, and _unless I write otherwise_, things are pretty much happening the same as canon. I'm holding off writing **everything **that's happening because that would just burn me out and make the chapter drag on unnecessarily, but unless I say otherwise, the results are exactly the same as canon.

* * *

Alrighties, I just read over my own crap… and it was crap. A number of people have bitched about me following canon too closely… and I find myself agreeing once I gave the chapter a once over after letting it sit a while. It was lacking in awesome-sauce and originality-powder.  
As such, I'm yanking the second part of this out till I can rewrite it. Gaara's still going to live, Chiyo's still going to die, but Deidara's probably going to die as well as Sasori.

It shouldn't take me too long to get the 'fight-scene' fixed up, maybe a week or two since I'm sick, but the new improved, deluxe version should be up soon.

Anyways, on with the fic!

**Chapter 3 – To Lose a Friend**

"Temari-san! And the Konoha team is with you, thank god. We've been waiting, please, this way!"

"Right."

Kakashi had made Naruto set the girls down after they'd taken their last break. When Naruto had (politely) questioned his decision, Kakashi had laid it out like this:

"_Naruto, you've been running at top speed for thirty-six hours while carrying_ _a young woman and her pack, we've had two breaks. That's not enough even for you. I won't ask you to let us carry you or to stop for the night, I know you wouldn't listen, but I'm __**ordering **__you to take it easier. You also can't carry the girls into a combat situation like that."_

After thinking that over, Naruto had reluctantly agreed and the group had run together the rest of the way to Suna.

Now, they were being led through the streets of the hidden village by a Suna-Chuunin.

While the Konoha-nin didn't know where they were going, Temari did, "Wait… I thought Gaara was abducted…? Why are we headed to the hospital?"

"After Kazekage-sama was abducted, Kankurou-san pursued them, but he was wounded…"

"What?! They got Kankurou too?!"

The Chuunin's voice was slightly panicked, "Yes, he was caught by the enemy's poison… and we have no way to neutralize it… at this rate, he only has maybe a day at most…"

The words struck the group hard and Temari's hands balled into fists, "Shit."

"Temari-san, let's hurry," the blonde Jounin turned towards the voice and found the most serious look on Sakura's face she'd ever seen, "I'll examine him."

---

"Kankurou!"

Those in the medical room looked up, finding the unconscious boy's sister and another, pink-haired kunoichi running into the room, the pinkette tossing her pack aside as she did.

A certain degree of relief went through Baki, he was aware of who the pink-haired girl was, Tsunade's apprentice. If anyone could help Kankurou, she could.

Chiyo noticed something entirely different.

Behind the kunoichi and in the doorway, were two ninja, one blonde in armor, but the other…

'_Tha-That's…!' _"The White Fang of Konoha!"

The aged woman _moved_, faster than many in the room were even capable of, hurtling towards the startled Kakashi like a demon from hell.

An entirely different kind of Demon got in her way.

Naruto ricocheted off the door frame, his hands intercepting the woman's simultaneous punch and kick with audible thumps. Chiyo used the boy's block as a platform to launch herself back for another go.

There wasn't a sound as the old woman slid to a stop, everyone was just too startled to act.

Well, except Naruto.

"The hell was _that_ for?! We're your allies damnit! Kakashi hasn't done shit to you!" _'Sonuva- This old bat's good, at least A-rank, possibly even S-ranked. But she's __**supposed **__to be an ally! I can't use the Kyuubi's power if things get ugly. Damn.'_

The look on Chiyo's face was deadly serious, "I remember that time… that White Fang of Konoha…! My son's enemy, I will get revenge for him today!"

"Ah!" realization dawned in Kakashi, also the feeling of _'OHSHI-!' _got much more pronounced. If this lady seriously thought she could've killed his dad, he was going to have issues, "No, I'm not-!"

She didn't listen, "There's no use in arguing!" She launched herself at the pair of Konoha shino-

An equally old man was in front of her, his arm blocking her path, "Sister… take a good look, there's a strong resemblance, but he isn't the White Fang of Konoha."

"Huh…?" the older lady looked at Kakashi again, harder this time, there was a brief moment of realization as she figured it out, then, "GYAHAHA!!! No way! I was just pretending to be stupid!!! Haha!"

Despite the general disbelief in the room at that comment, Kakashi was quite relieved.

Naruto though, was bemused, _"Neh, Gnarl?"_

There was a pause on the other end of the magical link before the aged Minion responded, _"Yes Sire?"_

"_I think I found your soulmate."_

Apparently he hadn't been paying attention, because the Minion actually searched about the room, _"Really Sire…? Where is she then?"_

Naruto pointedly looked at the wrinkled and ancient woman.

"_Wha-?! Eugh! Yuck! Sire! What in the world were you thinking?!" _Naruto suppressed a grin at the gagging and retching sounds coming from the Minion Master. He was about to make another comment about how perfect she was for Gnarl when his teammate spoke up.

"More importantly," Sakura was happy that the lady wasn't going to attack Kakashi, but more importantly, she was happy that the bullshit was done and _she could get to work_, "Kankurou-san needs to be treated **now**."

---

Naruto had known Sakura was a medic first, fighter second. She'd told him as much when he'd taken her aside to get a handle on what she could do now during the bell-test with Kakashi.

But after seeing her make a crater by _punching the ground_, Naruto had been slightly skeptical.

Now…? Now he believed her.

The pinkette chewed her bottom lip as she worked, a look of intense concentration on her face. One hand rested on Kankurou's stomach as the other hovered over a small incision on his chest. Both her hands glowed with perfectly contained chakra, a soft hum accompanying the work she did.

Namely, pulling the poison, and _just the poison_, out of Kankurou.

Little half-way clear globules of liquid slowly left the incision to gather in her palm.

'_Daaaamn…' _Naruto had tried to learn how to do that in his trip with Jiraiya, but he couldn't even _begin _to do anything like that. Use an ad-hoc lifeforce/mana/chakra pulse to speed up another persons healing a couple times? Sure, he had to stay close the whole time, but he could speed up someone's natural healing.

Pull a poison directly out of someone's bloodstream? No way in _hell_ that was happening.

The girl's chakra pulled away from Kankurou's chest and she held the floating ball of poison in her hand, "Got it!"

"_She likes to point out the obvious doesn't she Sire?"_

"_Shut up Gnarl."_

A sigh escaped Sakura, "Phew… heh, I don't think there's any need to worry about his life anymore. I've removed the poison directly."

Temari sighed in relief, falling back against the wall and sliding down, holding a hand to her chest to try and calm her still rapidly beating heart.

The pinkette gathered herself up, this was her element, "Alright. Now I need to make an antidote for the little bit of poison still in his body. We can't relax yet. I'll need you to get a number of things."

The old lady, Chiyo they'd said, stared at Sakura, "… you're a lot like that Slug-Woman… that a girl like you would come…"

Sakura seemed to miss the emotion behind the title 'Slug-Woman', either that or decided to take it as a compliment anyways, she smiled at the retired kunoichi, "Yes, Tsunade-sama is my teacher, and she's also the one that told me to come here."

The older woman was quiet for a long moment before her brother spoke up, "Sister… time really is slowly flowing by…"

"Of course it is, it never stops, not for any of us," Naruto sent a look the Siblings way, "Not for us, not for the Akatsuki, and not for Gaara. We have to be ready to leave as soon as Sakura-chan is finished making as much of that antidote as she can."

* * *

Tsunade stared at the winning lotto ticket in her hand as she waited for the team. She'd had a bad feeling about Team Kakashi's mission and Naruto's request for a Tracker-Nin or two was perfectly reasonable, they just hadn't had any.

Then she'd found the next best thing.

They might not be a dedicated Tracking Team like Naruto had wanted, but they _did_ have a Hyuuga. That should be enough to fill the slot Naruto had requested… he _had_ wanted a Hyuuga over anything else after all.

"Alright, is the reinforcement team ready?"

"YOSH!!! We are more than ready! We explode with the Youthful Fires of YOUTH!!!"

"… you're really stretching it Gai…"

* * *

Naruto sat across from Sakura, watching her mix up the antidote with interest.

He _loved _learning useful stuff, it used to be he only got excited about learning Jutsu, but once Gnarl had beaten it into his head that more Jutsu (Gnarl had actually said spells at the time) didn't necessarily make a better Hokage, the giddiness had spread to other topics, as long as it was _useful_.

Apparently, a lot of things could be useful once you learned them to a certain degree of proficiency. For example, he'd spent a couple clones on learning how to sew well enough to patch up his clothes in the field, he wasn't _good _at it by any stretch of the imagination, but he was _good enough _to fix a tear in his jacket or such.

Little stuff like that, or cooking, drawing, or tea ceremonies (That was only useful when you didn't want to look like a dumbass in front of nobles). It was all useful once you were proficient with it, he didn't have to rely on ration-bars in the wilderness, nor about giving away his position by summoning himself back and forth from the Netherworld. He wasn't an artist by any stretch of the imagination, but he _could _give someone a recognizable sketch of something he'd seen, like a new enemy nin to look out for.

Little, useful stuff like that.

And now he was trying to learn something about making poisons and antidotes.

Now, this was the advanced of the advanced, Sakura was _really damn good _at this stuff, and while she did her best to explain it to him, there was only so much she could do right now.

She'd been surprised and flattered that he'd wanted to learn at least a bit of the arts that she'd learned, and had happily walked the blonde through the steps she was taking. She'd lost him a number of times, he just didn't have enough basic knowledge in the craft to keep up, but Naruto was making notes on what to look up or ask her to explain more thoroughly later.

He never expected to be as good as her at this stuff, it was part of her specialty, but he expected to be _proficient_.

He also expected to get better at using poisons than her.

The Green Minions were immune to poison, even capable of absorbing it into their skin if they so desired. If Naruto could cover an area with a spread of airborne poison, his Greens would have a major advantage over almost any opponent. The only way it could be better was if Naruto was able to become immune to the poisons himself… maybe a mask like Kakashi's, only made of a Green's hide…?

"_Neh, Gnarl…?"_

"_Yes Sire…?" _this time the Minion's response was quick, if a bit hesitant.

"_Mah mah, it's not another joke or anything, it's a serious question."_

"_Ah, what is it then Sire?"_

"_How hard would it be to make a mask out of a Green's hide?"_

"_Hmmm…" _Naruto could just see the gray goblin-like creature scratching his chin, _"Well… I'd have to say it depends on what kind of mask you're making Sire, though I don't see why you'd want their smelly skin near your face…"_

"_Well, doesn't their skin absorb poison like the Red's absorbs fire?"_

"_Yes Sire, it does."_

"_Then why not make a face-mask out of it to keep airborne poisons from reaching my face?"_

Naruto _felt _the surprise on the other end of the magical link, _"That's…! That's actually a very good idea Sire! There's of course the issue of making the mask permeable, but if it works then…!" _Gnarl cackled, _"No more stupid Overlords getting killed because they don't understand the words 'Poisonous Gas' or 'Don't go near that plant'!"_

The blonde blinked and did his best to keep his confusion off his face. He'd known there were other Overlords before him of course, and he'd known that a large number of them had died because they'd done stupid things or at the hands of misguided Heroes… but some had walked into a field of poisonous plants…?

What idiots.

Gnarl was still ranting to himself, _"-and no more having to rely on a slew of greens just to get through those blasted jungles! BWUAHAHA!!! I can see it now…!" _The Minion sighed wistfully at whatever image it was appearing in his mind, at which point Naruto decided to interject.

"_Neh, Gnarl?"_

"_Ah… yes Sire?" _of course, the old Minion showed no sign of having his fantasies interrupted.

"_Are you going to get started or what?"_

"_Ah! Of course Sire!" _as the link began to fade, Naruto could hear the older Minion shouting out orders, _"Moldy, get me Stinky, Stabbers, and Reek! You, get me Giblet! We've got work to do and some Greens to skin!"_

Ah, so he was going to use Stabbers as a test subject? Good, Stabbers _never_ listened when Naruto told him not to stab civilians. Naruto had been trying to think of a suitable punishment for the Minion, but being skinned alive sounded good enough, it also would be useful if it helped make Naruto that mask.

The Naruto almost started trying to make up the mask design in his mind before he forced it back, he was watching Sakura make the antidote, that was his task right now and he wouldn't deviate from it. The original would know about the idea when he dispelled anyways.

Because as _that_ Naruto forced himself to watch his teammate make the antidote, several _other_ clones were doing 'village-keeping' around Suna.

Meeting people, saying nice things to said people, flirting with some, spying on others, learning about the village in every way he could. Some clones were in his 'Naruko' form, others in a less obviously 'him' version of himself. The village was still on high alert after the Akatsuki's attack, so the clones weren't getting very far, but he was still learning about the village as a whole.

It was the same technique he'd developed in Iwa, perfected in Kiri, and qualified in Kumo.

He liked to call it 'Mind-Rape Your Sorry Village's Secret's no Jutsu'.

Suna was getting the 'nicer' version.

---

The _original _Naruto was still in the hospital room, slowly stretching each of his slightly sore joints, "Once Sakura-chan is done with the antidotes, we should get moving."

"One moment Naruto," Kakashi moved towards Baki, the ranking Suna-nin in the room, "Um, excuse me, there is something I'd like to ask. What became of the pursuit of the Akatsuki after that?" the white-haired Jounin indicated the unconscious Kankurou.

"Kankurou went after them alone… there were no others," the Suna Jounin had the decency to look sheepish.

Kakashi's glare was disapproving, "… then, have we completely lost them?"

Baki was saddened and shamed to admit it, but, "… yes, we have."

The brief spike of irritation was quickly suppressed beneath Kakashi's façade of complete indifference and laziness, "Mmm… well, could you please guide me to where Kankurou-kun was fighting? Even if I don't look like it, I'm an expert tracker-"

Naruto blinked at that, _'Oh yeah…, I forgot that damnit, __**shouldn't **__have though. Memo to self: Kakashi can track. Remember it dangit.'_

"If even a small amount of their scent is left behind…"

"That's… not necessary…"

Everyone in the room turned to the unexpected voice as a shaky Kankurou forced himself to sit up, "There are two enemies, one abducted Gaara. You should follow Gaara's scent. Even assuming they split up, the other caught a piece of their clothing on Karasu's hand."

The collected ninja stared at the unsteady Jounin for a long moment before Naruto spoke up, "Well damn… you kick some serious ass, man… you make Suna look good."

The teen's sister rushed to his side, "Kankurou! Are you okay?!"

"Yeah… I'm feeling a bit better now…" He stared at Naruto for a long moment, first trying to recognize the changed blonde, then in confusion.

Naruto just grinned cheekily at him, "'Sup?"

"Kankurou," the young man turned towards the voice, apparently not immediately recognizing it in his half-awake state,"Are you completely sure that one of the two you followed was Sasori?"

'_Sasori… that sounds __**real **__familiar damnit… why?' _Naruto scowled, he wasn't as good with names as he'd have liked, unable to call up the information he certainly had to go with the name Sasori.

"Chiyo-baa-sama and Ebizou-jii-sama?!" the shock and awe in Kankurou's voice was obvious, and Naruto made note of it, but the Siblings ignored the Jounin's tone.

"What about it… Kankurou?"

Kankurou looked away from the two older shinobi, his voice solemn, "Yeah… it was Sasori of the Red Sand… he said so himself."

A punctuated silence followed that comment, Naruto thinking to himself, _'Sasori of the Red Sand… Sasori of the Red Sand… why does that sound familiar…? Where have I heard his name before…? Ah yes, Sasori of the Red Sand… 'the man who destroyed a country with his puppetry techniques'… shit…'_

"… Sasori of the Red Sand…?" Kakashi didn't know the name and title like Naruto did, he was even more in the dark than his blonde student, "May we hear more about this Akatsuki? Please."

The Suna-nin in the room exchanged a glance, but it was Naruto that spoke up, "I know a little… Sasori of the Red Sand: S-ranked defector from Suna. Grand master puppet designer and user, supposedly destroyed a country with a technique of his."

Blue eyes swept the group, "Am I wrong?"

It was Baki that answered, "… no, you're not…"

"Good, did you get the information on Deidara that we sent you?" Baki nodded and Naruto continued, "Even better, then we have an idea what we should be up against and…" He trailed off, getting a far off look in his eyes for a moment before his attention snapped back to the other ninja in the room, "Alright, Sakura-chan just finished making three doses of the antidote for Sasori's poison, she'll be here in a couple minutes to give one to Kankurou, after that we should get going."

---

"Alright, you should be fine now," Sakura stepped back from the formerly poisoned Jounin, "Now, until the paralysis ends, please don't move. Get some sleep."

"Good, if we're ready then we should get on our way."

Kankurou stared at the blonde, remembering his brother's words, how the armored young man had changed him, made him into someone who knew the value of people… who set Gaara down his path to become the Kazekage.

"Uzumaki Naruto…" the blonde paused in settling his blade more securely on his back to look at the formerly poisoned Jounin, "Please… save my little brother."

The smirk on Naruto's face was simultaneously reassuring… and absolutely terrifying on some level, "Don't worry. This isn't just my friend that I'm saving, as future Hokage, there's no way I can pass up the chance to secure an advance favor from the Kazekage. Leave it all to me."

---

Baki scowled slightly as the Konoha-nin got ready to leave the hospital, "If you wait just a bit, we can have high level ninja here as well."

Only later, while filling out the paperwork on the mission, would Kakashi realize that Baki had been speaking to _Naruto_, and that Kakashi himself had deferred to the blonde. Much the same way he would've if he'd been following another, not so different, blonde that he hadn't seen in sixteen years.

When he would finally realize how easily and unconsciously he'd turned over command of the mission to the (then) Gennin, a completely natural feeling of terror would rush through Kakashi. He would calm himself after an hour or two of controlled panic, but once he did, a conversation he'd overheard would come to mind.

Back when Kakashi was still a Gennin, the Third Hokage had still been an active ninja, and the shinobi that had coined the Saidame's second title, _God of Shinobi_, had been discussing it with someone else.

"_God is real, and he's a Konoha-nin. Now if, after a moment of contemplation, that statement feels you with a feeling of dread… don't worry, it's completely natural."_

The similarity between the feelings aroused by that statement and the ones he would have upon realizing how easily he'd passed command to Naruto would be uncanny.

At the time though, Kakashi was just proud that Naruto actually considered the offer, his eyes closing briefly in contemplation. But as the boy opened his mouth to speak, Temari decided to make her presence known.

"I'm going too."

"Temari, stay here and work on the defense of the country border," the fact that someone would tell Temari that despite her intense gaze was surprising enough, let alone who had said it, "Of the Shinobi of Sunagakure, I am more than enough."

---

"_Gnarl? Nevermind, she's not your soulmate, she's too cool for that."_

"… _I don't know whether to be relieved or insulted Sire…"_

"_Hm, let's go with relieved, that's safer for both our healths."_

---

"B-But Chiyo-baa-sama-!" Temari was startled.

"That would be too much for you…" Baki was as well, but seemed resigned, Kakashi had a feeling she'd be coming with them regardless.

When the old woman literally _leapt _off her perch from atop the hospital, Kakashi's fears were confirmed, "Don't treat me like an old woman!!"

"HOLY SHIT!! SHE JUMPED!!!"

The old shinobi landed solidly right in front of his team, and while Kakashi gave her a disbelieving look, Naruto was staring at her in wide eyed astonishment and Sakura outright recoiled from the (probably) crazy lady.

But when the woman looked up, Kakashi _knew_ they weren't dealing with a crazy old lady. They were dealing with a retired legend, a shinobi that, in her prime, had been on par with the likes of Jiraiya-sama and Tsunade-sama. The look on her face was deathly serious and terrifying in more ways than one.

"I've wanted to give my cute little grandson some love for quite a while now."

Naruto blinked at that before the corner of his mouth twitched and he asked in a surprisingly deadpan voice, "Any chance we could turn it into a group hug?"

* * *

He actually felt kinda stupid at the moment, he'd totally forgotten that Kakashi had access to nin-dogs. Sure he'd told Gnarl about it, but he usually didn't think too much about it considering the man had never gone for a boss summon or such.

Now though, they were following after Kakashi himself, the man leading the way with his enhanced sense of smell.

It'd just taken a quick mental message for the Minions to be up in full arms, Naruto wanted to be ready for a fight. Odds were good that they'd either run into the pair themselves, or someone left behind to delay them.

Naruto wouldn't let himself be delayed. Whatever it was they wanted with Gaara, he wouldn't let them do it.

He'd hit them hard and fast. He'd go One-Tailed right of the bat and would scatter the area with Greens and Browns supercharged by his power. If that didn't break them, he'd get behind them and use his enhanced power to push them back into the invisible Greens _and _his team. He doubted even an Akatsuki could survive being forced into a Rakiri and Sakura's superstrength, let alone whatever it was the old lady did.

The blondes advance planning was interrupted by a hesitant cough from Sakura, "Naruto… can I ask you something?"

Despite her serious tone, he couldn't help himself, "You just did, but I _guess_ you could ask another…"

Her lips twitched into a smile, "Idiot… but… seriously… how long have the Akatsuki been targeting you?"

Naruto was slightly surprised by the question, "I… honestly don't _know_…" He scowled slightly, "At least three years though, Itachi and Kisame attacked me back when I went with Jiraiya to find Tsunade-obaa-chan…"

Kakashi picked up where he'd left off, "They'd infiltrated Konoha in order to contact Naruto… they haven't made a move since then though, and I can't quite see a motive behind that…"

Sakura scowled, the water beneath her feet splashing particularly loud that leap, "Why would they wait three years?"

Kakashi landed with little more than a 'tap', despite moving at almost full tilt, "Possibly, they _couldn't _take action rather than choosing not to," the Jounin leapt again, leading the group and continuing his sentence in mid-air, "He had Jiraiya-sama at his side the entire time…"

Naruto shook his head, "No, I doubt that was it… Jiraiya-san's scary as hell when he's serious, but not that scary. I doubt Jiraiya-san could've beaten Deidara and Sasori fast enough to keep someone else from grabbing me earlier on in the trip… _especially _if they've got someone that can take down a Kage…" The blonde paused to take another leap, making just a decibels more sound than Kakashi, "I'm thinking there's some difficulty in what they're planning on _doing_."

Sakura gave the boy a look, "I thought you said you didn't know…?"

He shook his head slightly, "I don't… I suspect, but it's barely more than an educated guess… whatever it was they were going to do, they must've decided it would be easier to go with Gaara with Jiraiya-san guarding me… and to recalibrate or whatever probably took time."

It was then the old lady spoke up, "Well… from what I've gathered, there are other reasons," the team looked at Chiyo as she continued, "It requires considerable preparation to separate a Bijuu from its host. I assume that is what hampered their effort."

"Bijuu…?"

Naruto jumped on the question as quick as he could without being obvious, "It's what's in Gaara, remember the giant sand thing he turned into during the Chuunin exams?"

The pinkette nodded and Naruto continued, "That's one of the Bijuu, the Shukaku. They're beasts made of pure power, embodiments of nature if you will. They're each pretty much their own self contained natural disaster," Naruto purposefully put a thoughtful expression on his face, "If they went from trying to get me to trying to get Gaara, they'd have had to switch their preparations around completely…"

Sakura looked slightly suspicious, so Naruto did what he usually does best, distraction, "I mean, I know Gaara's awesome and all, he couldn't've become Kazekage if he wasn't, but I'm on a totally different level! They probably decided it would be easier trying to suck the extra awesome out of Gaara than suck out all of mine!"

He grinned wildly at the pinkette, "I mean, which one would _you_ rather suck on Sakura-chan? Me, or Gaara?"

The kunoichi blinked once, twice, then flushed a bright red, "Naruto-!!! Y-Yo-YOU PERVERT!!!"

Even as Naruto went skipping along the surface of the water from the force of Sakura's punch in an only _relatively _controlled tumble, he couldn't help but grin.

'_Operation: Embarrass-Sakura-enough-to-cause-reflexive-anger-and-make-her-forget-about-what-we-were-talking-about! is a success!'_

---

Thankfully, Sakura was still mostly in 'Mission-Mode' and all it took to get her to stop trying to kill Naruto was a stern look from Kakashi. She was still huffy, but that was understandable, it _had _been pretty bad, in more ways than one.

It was a _very _transparent attempt to change the subject, that had only worked because the pinkette had a hair-trigger temper in regards to perversion (especially Naruto's), something the blonde was _very _thankful for at the moment.

Kakashi knew exactly what Naruto had been avoiding having pointed out, and that Chiyo probably suspected, thankfully, Kakashi _couldn't _tell her unless Naruto did, and the old lady didn't seem to want to bring it up again.

He hadn't had a chance to gauge what her reaction might be to the revelation that he contained the Kyuubi, he didn't want to do it while they were _on _a mission either… he wasn't even sure that he _wanted _to tell her… **ever**.

Naruto didn't want to risk one of his few real friendships by rushing to expose his secret.

The blondes thought processes were brought to a halt when Kakashi stiffened. Immediately, Naruto's hand went to the hilt of Maelstrom and chakra began gathering in his free arm even as the Jounin called for a halt.

Then Naruto saw him.

'_Oh crap.'_

Uchiha Itachi.

Sakura was confused, Chiyo was wary, Kakashi was just about as ready to crap his pants as Naruto was.

Naruto tuned out the voices of his comrades as he slid into a crouch, his right hand at the hilt of Maelstrom over his left shoulder, his left hand held out straight towards the ground, "Uchiha Itachi," it was a greeting.

He noted Sakura's shock and brief amount of fear, he also noted the bemusement of Chiyo, but they were ignored in favor of listening to the S-ranked missing nin speak.

"It's been a while… Kakashi-san… Naruto-kun." Blank, emotionless, terrifying in many ways.

Naruto shifted to the front of the group, placing himself between Itachi and his allies, particularly his friend, though he made sure not to make it particularly obvious that he was between Itachi and Sakura, he made sure to keep his voice even as he spoke, "Quite true Itachi-san… though I must admit, I'm surprised you're here… I thought you were after _me_, not Gaara…" he felt anger leaking into his words at the end of his sentence before he cut it off.

"_Okay, this could be bad, Gnarl! What do we have on Itachi?"_

"_Almost nothing Sire-" _the aged Minion's voice stopped when Itachi began to shift.

"Everyone! Don't look directly at his eyes! It's dangerous!" Naruto didn't doubt Kakashi for a second, his eyes snapped to the center of the man's torso.

Sakura asked the question the team thinking, "Then what should we do?!"

There was a pause, Kakashi shifting some and putting Sakura at the center of a triangle of Naruto, Chiyo, and himself, the simple unconscious reflex born during war: Protect the Medic.

"Judge his movements from the movements of his body and feet," the older nin paused, "His Genjutsu is actually part of his Doujutsu, in other words, a vision-type. You should be fine if you avoid eye contact."

Everyone did just that, keeping their eyes on the man's waist, Naruto had to stifle a reflexive movement of his eyes when Itachi kept shifting his hands upwards, muttering a soft curse. Sakura though, was the one to actually say it, "That's… really difficult…"

Naruto heard Gnarl mutter in his head, _"See…? She keep stating the obvious!"_

Before the teen could reprimand him, the other old fart of the group spoke up, "Hmmm… the Uchiha clan…" Naruto's eyes flicked over to Chiyo, "It's been a long time since I fought a Sharingan… well, there's no reason to be overwhelmed. There are a number of tactics that can be used to fight this Doujutsu."

"Really…? I've fought it a couple times before, aside from getting behind them and staying there I couldn't find any…"

"Exactly," the old woman smiled toothlessly, and her voice changed, obviously quoting someone, "'If it's one on one, surely flee, but if it's two on one, take the rear."

Naruto gave the woman a curious glance and she continued, "If it's two on one, even if one gets caught in the Genjutsu, the other can get behind the opponent. If the real body is hit, then the Genjutsu will be unraveled. Even if that's impossible, they can cancel the Genjutsu off of their companion themselves. That is, if there's multiple opponents, one can divert their attention, while the other can get behind the enemy and attack the blind spot of the Sharingan."

"I see…" Naruto could hear the hope in his teammate's voice, and he hated to burst her bubble, but he had to.

"Problem: When the Sharingan user is fast enough to keep out of range and catch others in the attack…" that was a problem on its own, but Kakashi had more to add.

"Bigger problem…" Naruto's eyes flicked over to the Jounin in surprise before returning to Itachi's waist, "That's okay for normal Genjutsu… but his Genjutsu is much more troublesome…"

The two women's eyes went to Kakashi, though Naruto kept his own the strangely polite missing nin. Why was the man waiting? They were discussing ways to kill him and how to avoid getting caught in his attacks, why was he letting them talk? Strategize? Plan?

Why hadn't Itachi hit them with a normal genjutsu? Or ninjutsu?

What was his angle?

"Itachi's Doujutsu surpasses the original Sharingan, the 'Mangekyou Sharingan'. If you're struck by it, the Genjutsu will affect you in an instant," the memory of meeting Itachi and Kisame popped into Naruto's head, specifically, the point where he'd had Sasuke pinned against the wall. One moment, Sasuke had been struggling and fighting, the next, he'd slumped against the wall. _'Shit, he's right.' _"There's no canceling it."

"Hmph, what a troublesome person…" _"Dangerous is more like it Sire, he's not after the old bat,"_ "What in the world is he…?"

The missing nin began speaking again in that monotone of his and Naruto had to resist the natural urge to bring his eyes to the man's face, "That's Kakashi-san for you. That, after being affected by my Tsukuyomi only once."

"That's not all…" Naruto seriously hoped the Jounin had some good news this time, his tone implied it wasn't bad at least, "After you used that Doujutsu, you became weary and immediately left the fight. Besides the fact that it requires a considerable amount of chakra, it also presents a great risk to your eyes as well… doesn't it, Itachi?"

"Well analyzed… given that you only fought me once…" Again with the polite yet creepy monotone. Man that was getting on Naruto's nerves.

"_Sire… I believe I have an idea…"_

"_Yeah?"_

"_Summon some browns and throw them at him."_

"… _that… might actually work… it depends on whether his eye thing can be activated reflexively or not, but regardless…"_

The beginnings of a plan were forming in Naruto's mind as Kakashi lifted his hitai-ate, revealing his still-closed left eye, "Itachi… how far has your eyesight deteriorated?"

Naruto watched the slight twitch to the missing nins fingers, the subtle shift, he was surprised, badly. Good. Hopefully (as unlikely as it was) his surprise would get him to make a mistake.

"Kakashi-san… impossible, you…" the blonde could feel the cord of tension between the two former ANBU go taught before the lazy and lackadaisical mask Kakashi wore over his physical one suddenly slammed down.

"Well! Last time I was unprepared, but, I'm not like that this time. This won't go the same way it did last time."

Naruto couldn't agree more, "Kakashi's right Itachi-san… you might've just picked a fight you can't win…" he intentionally twitched the fingers gripping Maelstrom, he couldn't tell whether Itachi caught it or not (probably did with that blasted Sharingan) but he could feel Kakashi's eyes slipping to him (thank you Sharingan).

The teen grinned at Itachi's waist, "I'm a whole lot stronger now bastard! And Kakashi-sensei knows all your tricks! No way you can win this fight!"

While he shouted, he tapped out a quick message on Maelstrom's hilt to Kakashi: _I spam clone and summon you flank_. He didn't think Itachi was fooled by his shouting, nor did he think he'd hid it well enough that the missing nin's Sharingan couldn't catch it, but he could hope.

He'd assume the man _had _of course, but he could hope.

"Heh, don't get cocky Naruto…" the Jounin shifted, his foot tapping twice subtly, standard 'yes' for subtle communication between konoha shinobi.

Naruto began to slowly clench his free hand, gathering the chakra for a summoning.

Then Itachi's body shifted and he made a noncommittal sound, Naruto's eyes flicking to the finger pointing at him as the man spoke, "We'll kindly ask you to come with us… Naruto-kun."

"Yeah right, not likely Itachi-san." _"Neh Gnarl? What do you think? Got any snappy comments for that?"_

There was no reply.

"_Gnarl…? Gnarl?!" _Naruto's eyes widened in surprise before they narrowed. _'Genjutsu. Damn.'_

There wasn't much that could break the connection Naruto had to the Minions, it was telepathic and magical, so chakra could be slung around to disrupt it, there weren't any materials in this world that could inhibit it, and it couldn't be dispelled period.

But messing with his head could interfere with _his _end of the bargain.

Whenever someone else's chakra entered his head, the seals on the inside of his headband stopped registering Naruto as, well, Naruto. And the magic wouldn't work for anyone else.

'_No response from a Minion means I'm in a Genjutsu. Itachi probably caught me in a regular Genjutsu technique rather than his Mangekyou version sometime. Shit. While I'm trapped in this he's probably killing my friends! SHIT!'_

Naruto forced himself to remain calm with effort, he knew only one good way that he could break Genjutsu from someone as strong as Itachi, that was to gather a massive amount of chakra at the center of his seal, press it as tightly as it would go, then let it quite literally explode. The chakra-shockwave would break any Genjutsu within a sizable area.

Problem: It took a while to gather the chakra.

Solution: Distraction! Stall stall!

Problem: How? Acting stupid will just give Itachi an opening. He's too… Itachi not to use it.

Solution: …?

Naruto had no idea. Talk to him maybe…?

'_Wait… talk to him…? __**Talk **__to him!'_

The chakra began to slowly collect as Naruto tilted his head to the side, "Neh, Itachi-san…?"

"Hn?" _'Wow… that's about as articulate as Sasuke-teme was for a long time…'_

"You don't strike me as someone to have the desire to just up and kill your family Itachi-san… why _did_ you…?" _'Wow, that was __**real **__smooth… if he doesn't stab me repeatedly for that I'll be happy.'_

The representation of the missing nin in the illusion was silent for a long moment, and Naruto almost wondered whether them man _could _talk in the Genjutsu, but then, softly, he spoke, "They were weak, they were not worthy of the Uchiha name."

Naruto paused in his gathering of chakra, _'That… that wasn't his normal speech… he usually maintains a damn good monotone, but there was something different in his voice that time… but what?' _He forced himself to resume his gathering of chakra, "Now that doesn't sound right… then why ever would you leave Sasuke-teme alive?"

The man's fingers actually _twitched_. Like, Naruto had gotten the unflappable Uchiha Itachi to _twitch_!

Hot damn! He was _**on **_to somethinghere!

"I mean, if you're killing the clan because they aren't worth the name, then why leave Sasuke-teme alive? He showed less talent than you, less than even some others in the clan… so I'm not buying it…" Naruto went over what little bit he remembered of his brief encounter with Itachi as he started compressing the chakra he'd gathered, "You told Sasuke-teme that his hate wasn't strong enough… you want Sasuke to hate you…"

Itachi's fingers flexed outwards just a bit before slowly curling back in. _'Out? Surprise? Startled? I'll risk it.'_

"You want him to hate you… like you hate yourself… don't you?" this time his hands twitched and clenched ever so slightly. Naruto was taking a gamble here, and a big one, but if it paid off…

Naruto's eyes rose to Itachi's, piercing cerulean blue met equally intense blood red.

And nothing happened.

"You want him to be strong enough to kill you… don't you Itachi-san?"

The slow, barely controlled intake of breath was all the answer Naruto needed.

"You didn't _want _to kill the Uchiha did you Itachi-san?" the blonde was taking shots in the dark, he'd hit _something _here and he was running with it. The way the missing nin's eyes twitched slightly to the side encouraged Naruto to continue, "Something _made _you kill them… didn't it Itachi-san…?"

"… you have _changed_ haven't you Naruto-kun…?"

Now Naruto _knew _he was on the right track! "What was it Itachi-san…? Why did you _really _kill your clan?" the missing nin's eyes _narrowed_, Naruto decided to back off a bit, stalling was no good if it goaded your opponent into attacking you, "Why do you serve this new organization?" less angry eyes, kay, follow that, "Do they have something you want…?" His eyes twitched to the upper left, Neji had called Hinata on that hadn't he-? What had it been?! Upper left was… suppressed memories? No… upper left was… bad memories! That was it! Looking to the upper left was remembering bad memories!

They had something he wanted! Probably to destroy if it was a _bad_ memory. This could work! This could really work!

Naruto slowly, deliberately raised his free hand, offering it to the representation of the missing nin in front of him, "What is it you want most in the world Itachi-san? And how can I give it to you?"

Itachi's eyes twitched left and right repeatedly, Naruto had the missing nin cornered with words. This was absolutely _awesome! _If he could get a handle on the missing nin then he could turn him to his side! He could get _both _the Uchiha on his side if he played this right! **SWEET!**

His chakra control faltered.

The ball of chakra forming in his gut pulsed weakly before oozing out quickly rather than in the explosive rush required.

There was no _way _Itachi hadn't noticed that.

'… _shit…'_

The missing nin's eyes _narrowed _at him, and Naruto knew the man had caught on. Whatever push he had gotten on him earlier with his words was lost. The moment, the tension that he'd built, it was gone.

Naruto couldn't help but curse softly as the illusion in front of him dissolved into crows; it was actually a pretty nice visual effect really… or it would've been if it didn't prelude what was likely to be absurd amounts of pain for Naruto.

Caution and subtlety were thrown to the wind as Naruto yanked his hand away from Maelstrom's hilt and clapped his hands together, gathering the chakra as quickly and forcefully as he could. The crows became shuriken (another really cool trick, damn Genjutsu users for getting the cool looking shit). Naruto did his best to ignore his instincts, the honed reflexes, _screaming _at him to move. To not just stand there and take the mass of shuriken headed at him.

He ignored those instincts and forced the chakra to keep gathering, even as what felt like fifty shuriken slammed into his body, _'This Genjutsu… I can overcome it… I __**know **__I can!'_

Then… the skin began to peel off the side of his face.

'_Wha-?' _Naruto stared as bits of his tanned skin pulled away from his body, he could _feel _his epidermis leaving him, _'That's… that's just freaky!'_

He didn't know how he knew, but he just knew that there was dark skin beneath! He knew there was something there he didn't like! He didn't want to know what was being revealed, he _didn't want to know! _He _forced_ his chakra to gather faster, to compact tighter, to press smaller! He had to get out of this Genjutsu _now! _The skin stopped peeling away and Naruto screamed.

'_Sasuke-teme-?! Wha-?! But how?! Damnit! It's Genjutsu! Genjutsu! Ignore it! Doesn't matter how creepy it is that half your face is the teme's! It's just in your head! __**Ignore it!**__'_

It was suddenly a lot harder to ignore when his own hand grabbed his throat and began to _squeeze_.

Then it _spoke_! The thing that was half his own face _spoke!_ "You _didn't_ stop me from leaving. You _couldn't_ stop me from leaving. I was out of control. You won't bring me back. I won't _let_ you bring me back. I'll keep doing what I want regardless of the consequences." Panic rose in Naruto as the hand tightened around his throat despite his best efforts to pull it away with his other hand.

'_No-! NO! I can stop all this! I know I can! I can make it better! I can-!'_

Movement. At his chest there was movement. His cuirass was pushing forward, his chest was moving, bulging. Pink?! Why was there _pink?! _"Why didn't you stop Sasuke-kun…?" _'Sakura?!'_ "Even though I trusted you… you couldn't keep Sasuke-kun here… and it hurt me… why did you let him hurt me…?"

'_No! I didn't mean to let him hurt you Sakura-chan! I swear! I didn't know any better then! I know better now! I won't let him hurt you again Sakura-chan! I won't __**let **__him! I-!'_

Shifting. His scarf was shifting! No! Not anymore! He couldn't-! A mess of white hair shared his scarf with him now.

"You couldn't protect your comrades could you?" _'Kakashi-sensei! I tried-!' _"Even though I had faith in you… you couldn't keep him home…"

He couldn't breathe. It wasn't just the hand on his throat. He couldn't _breathe_. _'Stop-! Stop! STOP! Stopstopstopstop-!'_

Then a voice came from his hand. His hand! "Why…?" He stared at his hand and a black rimmed eye stared back, "Why didn't you save me? Why didn't you stop by my village? I thought I was your friend…"

'_I made a mistake but I'm fixing it. I made a mistake but Im fixing it. ImadeamistakebutImfixingit! ImadeamistakebutImfixingit!!'_

His shoulderplate! Stop moving stopmovingstop! No more! Black cloth became dark-blue hair, a pale face and paler eyes lifted out of his shoulder plate to stare accusingly at him, "Why didn't you stop Neji? Why Naruto-kun? You could've stopped Neji from hurting me… why didn't you stop him Naruto-kun?"

'_I-I-I-I-I-I I'm sorry! I-!'_

---

It stopped.

Just like that, it stopped. In a rush, Naruto was Naruto again, not some hodgepodge mess of everyone he'd ever failed.

"_SIRE! Thank Evil! Sire, are you okay?!"_

"Naruto! Are you alright?!"

He blinked, then blinked again, processing the information his senses were sending in. Sakura and Chiyo were beside him, their hands pressed tightly against the flat plates of his shoulder-guards. He could feel the tingle of their chakra leaving his body and the padding expand as they pulled back from him. Kakashi… Kakashi was leaping back from an exchange with Itachi.

'_Just a Genjutsu… just… just a Genjutsu…'_ "I… I'm alright now…" Naruto swallowed, somehow he'd ended up standing with his hands hanging loosely at his sides, "Watch it though… he doesn't just use the Sharingan to cast Genjutsu…"

"Right… are you ready Naruto…?"

The blonde drew in his courage, tossing aside his reservations and fears, those were for another time, another place. Here, now, he had an opponent to fight. Fear had no place on the battlefield. He stepped away from the kunoichi and his hand went to his shoulder, "Yeah… Kakashi, I'm ready," Maelstrom came out, the black blade soundless as it cut through the air.

Itachi shifted into a ready stance of his own and Naruto let the chakra start to surge down his free hand. He gripped Maelstrom's handle tightly as he held his other hand out before him, palm down. With his Ōdachi held out at his side, tilted slightly forward, he was as ready as he could be. He could summon a slew of Minions of any color with but a thought, Maelstrom could snap up in front of him in an instant.

'_Your move Itachi.'_

Itachi _moved_.

His hands slapped into a tiger seal and he drew back, breathing in deep, "Get behind me-!" Naruto's hand dipped an inch and he thought the color.

_**Red.**_

His hand was coming up even as the dense ball of flaming death exploded out from Itachi. Smoke burst into existence in front of Naruto as the ball carved a trench into the dirt. The fireball broke against the Reds that had come into existence in front of Naruto. The flames parted like a stream before a stone.

"-now!"

Naruto felt Sakura press against his armored back and he grinned. Even though he felt like just a bit more and he'd be missing some eyebrows, the flames had been stopped. He watched the last tongues of fire get sucked into the skin of the Reds that he'd summoned.

'_If all you're going to do is Genjutsu and fire techniques… you'll never win Itachi-san…'_

Naruto _grinned_.

---

'_Wha-What are those?!'_

Sakura _gaped_ at the things Naruto had summoned. They weren't frogs, which is what she thought he summoned, rather… they were like little demon, gremlin, things…

Red, that was the first thing she noticed. They were _red_. And scrawny. They were only about half the height of a normal man, and they _were _humanoid… just not any kind of thing she'd seen before. They looked to be little more than bone, muscle, and red leathery skin. They each had a pair of horns on the sides of their heads, but each pair looked different, maybe it was like fingerprints for them or something…?

She was surprised they were _all_ wearing a weird set of what looked to be a modified Kumo Chuunin vest and a pair of armored shorts. Sakura had never heard of Summon Uniforms.

She didn't recognize the things, but she would've just flicked her eyes to them and back to the fight if that was it.

No, Sakura gaped at the summons because of what position they were summoned in.

They were standing on each others shoulders in a summon pyramid!

'**How the hell'd he do that?!'**

Naruto shifted slightly and Sakura's attention snapped back to him. The moment she heard 'Get behind' Sakura had reacted, remembering the plan when fighting Kakashi-sensei, she'd assumed Naruto was going to drop to a knee and shoulder the blast aside with pure chakra again.

She'd been wrong, but not about getting behind her teammate.

Now, as the smooth plates of lacquered leather and steel moved beneath her hands, Sakura stepped back. The blondes voice was soft and controlled, and all the more terrifying for it.

"Minions… attack."

The war-cry the things made was the _opposite_ of stealth, it was loud and annoying, yet it also made her want to laugh. It just _sounded _silly.

Sakura didn't think they were a joke. Not when they _laughed _at a fire technique from an S-ranked missing nin. And especially not when they screamed a battle-cry and _charged_ at him. The pyramid of summons came crashing down in an uncontrolled mess, but the things from the top just rolled to their feet when they hit the ground and the ones at the bottom just ran forward.

A mass of red ran at Uchiha Itachi and _screamed._

The missing nin's hands started to come up again but suddenly flew back to his sides. Without the Sharingan or some other Doujutsu, Sakura could only fully process what happened next after the fact.

Kakashi-sensei exploded from the ground in front of Itachi with a flying uppercut, but missed the Akatsuki member. Itachi grabbed Kakashi-sensei's arm and redirected the punch to the ground and tried to punch Kakashi-sensei with his free hand. Kakashi-sensei blocked, but in the process Itachi brought himself face to face with the masked man.

Sakura was worried for the briefest of moments, fearing Itachi had trapped Kakashi-sensei in a Genjutsu, but her fears were dispelled quickly.

"Naruto! Now!" Kakashi-sensei, the real one, pulled himself out of a hole in the trench carved by Itachi's fireball.

The blonde raised his free hand in a majestic gesture, and his summons reacted. Sakura _felt _the call to arms, to attack, to kill, and actually had to fight the brief surge of emotion and impulse to charge at Itachi. The summons had no such reservations.

They suicidally charged straight at Itachi as he grappled with Kakashi-sensei's shadow clone. The missing nin didn't hesitate, shifting and hurling the Shadow Clone away his hands were coming up just as the first of the summons got within five feet of him. Sakura felt a brief surge of power from Naruto and the summon leapt straight at Itachi even as the missing nin threw a kunai at it's chest.

And it exploded.

Everyone aside from Naruto was surprised when the summon just outright _exploded _like it'd had a couple exploding tags on it. Sakura wasn't surprised enough to miss Naruto switching out with a shadow clone in front of her, but _damn_!

The first summon exploded, but it wasn't the only one. The rest were soon following after it in, running at the missing nin as hard as they could, screaming _joyfully _at the top of their lungs before _exploding _as close to Itachi as they could.

Through the smoke and dust kicked up by the chain reaction of exploding summons, Sakura saw Itachi leap backwards to avoid sudden immolation and dismemberment.

Right into Naruto.

The missing nin's head jerked to the side as he sensed the blonde, but it was already too late. Naruto slammed the soccer-ball sized glowing sphere he held between his hands into Itachi's back.

Even though it hit the missing nin, even though it was several feet off the ground, even though the missing nin wasn't even _touching _the ground until Naruto hit him with the technique. The shockwave of the attack was enough to carve a circular crater into the dirt behind Itachi.

"W-Wow…"

The initial hit had sounded like the _boom _her punches would make when hitting something hard and had devolved into the rushing sounds of a tornado.

And as Naruto's shadow clone in front of her dispelled, Sakura got the very distinct impression that the blonde had _planned _on catching Itachi with that technique as soon as Itachi had thrown the fireball.

'**Damnit! No way! I decided I wouldn't be left behind by those two three years ago! No way it's happening again!'**

'_You really _are_ leaving me behind… aren't you Naruto…?'_

---

"Tch, shoulda known he wouldn't go down that easy damnit."

"This… this is…"

Naruto set Maelstrom onto his back once again, an angry scowl on his face as Sakura stared at the corpse with a cross between confusion and disgust, "Was it… a jutsu… or what?"

Kakashi shook his head, "I had a bad feeling about it in the middle of the fight…"

"_Neh, Gnarl? You recognize this?"_

"_Not really Sire. Temporary possession is something I've seen done, even permanent possession… but never something that gave the possessed the abilities of the possessor… we should investigate Sire."_

"_Definitely, this could be a very valuable ability to have," _Naruto scowled at the body as if his glare could force the corpse to give up its secrets.

"He…"

Kakashi and Naruto looked over at Chiyo, though it was Kakashi that asked the question, "Do you know this person?"

"Yeah…" the woman scowled, "He's Yuura, a Jounin from my village…"

This got scowls all around, Naruto hooking his thumbs in his pockets with a huff even as Kakashi muttered, "From Suna…? What does that mean?"

Chiyo shook her head at the partially rhetorical question, "I don't know…"

Naruto watched the gears spinning in Sakura's head, _'Sorry Sakura, brains don't do you any good if you don't have enough information,' _"… possibly he was an Akatsuki spy…"

The retired Suna nin shook her head again, "No way… he's been working hard as a leader for over four years now…"

Naruto glanced at the lady before forcing his eyes back to the body, "Unfortunately, that doesn't mean he couldn't have been a sleeper agent…" he scowled at the corpse before continuing, "What's bothering me is how to detect this stuff… and how they made this guy into Itachi like that…"

Sakura frowned, "I don't think it was a henge…"

"It wasn't," the group looked at Kakashi curiously, Naruto _knew _it hadn't been a henge because he'd actually _talked _to Itachi in his Genjutsu and no one could imitate the Uchiha that completely, but how did Kakashi know? "This isn't that level of jutsu… the Goukakyou is a jutsu the Uchiha developed, perfected, and use extraordinarily well… that was the real thing."

"_Didn't he use the same thing almost as good against you and the pink one Sire?"_

Naruto had to restrain a snort as he responded to Gnarl, he didn't want to break the contemplation of the group, _"Kakashi's an Elite Jounin Gnarl and has probably been using that jutsu for years. I wouldn't be surprised if he could match a weakened Itachi."_

"_Ah… though we do know more about this Itachi fellow now don't we?" _Naruto could hear the grin in the aged Minion's mental voice.

"_Yes… we do… now we have a basic plan to fight the bastard… and an interesting bit of dirty laundry."_

"_Oh…? What is that Sire?"_

"_Ah, forgot, you weren't in the Genjutsu… I found out he didn't want to kill his clan and isn't particularly thrilled about working for the people he works for."_

"_This is _wonderful _news Sire! Absolutely wonderful!" _the Minion let out a positively _evil _cackle, and for once, Naruto didn't call him on it.

Because he completely agreed.

---

Kakashi spoke up after a moments silence, both in and out of Naruto's head, "It looks like the real one is still at their hideout… his objective was to gather data and delay us… those bastards really do have good jutsu."

Naruto scowled in agreement and Sakura watched her friends face, _'… I had no idea you had opponents like these Naruto… how long have you been fighting people like this…?'_

'**Shannaro! We'll whoop their asses anyways! Doesn't matter how strong they are! We'll just get stronger!'**

Sakura agreed wholeheartedly with the suppressed side of her psyche.

Then Naruto grinned, "There's good news though, information gathering works both ways. We learned they have a technique like this _and _I've now got a good idea how to deal with Itachi if we ever meet up again," his smile faded to a serious look, "But if they were going out of their way to delay us, getting there ASAP is paramount."

"Indeed…" Team Kakashi looked over at the retired Suna nin, "This was clearly stalling. There's no mistake about it, they've already started to extract the Bijuu!" The old woman scowled briefly before a worried look settled onto her face, "Perhaps they wish to use the one tail Shukaku to make a new Jinchuuriki."

"Then we've got to get going _now_," Naruto settled his scroll more securely on his back as he got ready to leap, but was interrupted by Sakura.

"Jinchuuriki…?"

Chiyo subtly glanced at Naruto, who took it as his cue, "Yeah… the Bijuu were living natural disasters… but people have tried to harness that power for military purposes… by sealing the Bijuu into a person…"

"…!"

"Yeah, the absurd power of a Bijuu is compressed and packed into a person when they're real little so their chakra coils can stand the absurd power," Naruto scowled, "People like Gaara, the Jinchuuriki, resonate with their Bijuu and can use a part of its inconceivable power."

For a moment, Naruto paused, trying to think of a way to divert the conversation from himself, when his mind latched onto something that he didn't know. He turned towards Chiyo, "Thing is, I know it's possible to pull out a Bijuu… but I don't know _how_… you know something about it though, don't you…?"

The old woman scowled, "If, for just an instant, a sealing Jutsu which releases the exact amount of power to match up with the Bijuu's is used… but to build up that much chakra takes a considerable amount of time. If it's used however…"

The bits of information the old woman had given about this before flashed through Sakura's mind and the pieces fell into place, "You mean…?"

"Yeah…" Naruto answered for the old hag, "If these guys pull Shukaku out of Gaara… Suna's going to need a new Kazekage…"

Chiyo finally turned her head towards them, "Suna has actually had three Jinchuuriki, two before Gaara that contained the Shukaku. When they ceased to be useful to the village, the Shukaku was extracted from their bodies… causing their deaths."

Sakura's eyes went wide, "Then…?!"

"Yeah, if we're going to save Gaara, we've got to get going _now_," the blonde crouched low and leapt off in the direction they'd been going before. The others followed with only the briefest of hesitations.

But as Kakashi took the lead, Sakura couldn't shake the feeling that she was _missing _something that had just been waved in front of her nose.

* * *

**A.N.-) **Yeys! Another chapter done! Though I'm getting more 'hate' for this stuff than I did before, it seems I'm actually doing good!

Anyways, now for a bit of a rant on something that a couple people were bothered by: **Naruto's Power-Level**

I'll admit that, by rights, Naruto should probably be faster than I've made him. By limiting his speed, I was trying to keep him from becoming too overpowered, though in the prologue I set him up to be considerably faster and stronger than he appears.  
My bad.  
Seriously, I screwed up a bit there.  
I would like to point something out though: The level I put him at isn't low. I'm not saying he's as good as Shikamaru is at taijutsu, I'm saying he's about as good as Rock Lee, who specializes in it, and is _equally_ good at using Maelstrom.  
It's not an excuse (I think) but here's what my thought processes were:

In my head at the start, I was thinking Naruto would have to develop a totally new style of swordsmanship to use his over-sized weapon since he doesn't have one of the seven swordsman of the mist to teach him. In my head, that meant he'd be really good at using his fists and at using his sword, but only about to the level of Rock Lee with his weights.  
Which means in a straight up fight, just fists, one on one, I can expect Naruto to hold his own against Kakashi as long as his *coughCheatingcoughcough* Sharingan isn't out. Win? If Naruto gets lucky he might, but probably not, Kakashi has a smidge of reach and speed on Naruto and lots of combat experience.  
This is remembering that Kakashi is single-handedly tough enough to hold his own against both Hidan and Kakuzu effectively by himself for an extended period of time.

I'd solidly place Naruto (as a whole) at an A-rank even without the Kyuubi's power, _with _its power he's an S-rank that could beat up about half the Akatsuki in a one-on-one fight.

Using my Overlord!Naruto as is, here's my thoughts on him versus each member of the Akatsuki:

**Naruto vs Sasori**: Naruto, hands down. Sasori's core might get away, but he'll definitely lose. Naruto is effectively immune to his poison due to his fast healing, and Sasori's biggest tricks: 'Lots of puppets no jutsu!' and 'Black Sand of DOOM no jutsu!' are beaten by spamming shadow clones or Minions and a big rasengan or diving underground respectively. Reds absorb the flame from his flamethrowers and Greens absorb poison, what's Sasori got left that Naruto can't beat? Verdict: Naruto hands down.  
**Naruto vs Konan**: Naruto, easily. She turns into paper that cuts people. Naruto's chakra shroud and sword _burn _things, no contest if she's by herself, wind chakra or not. Verdict: Naruto.  
**Naruto vs Zetsu**: No idea, we know next to nothing about this guy in combat so I'm not even going to guess.  
**Naruto vs Hidan**: Likely Naruto. Hidan could tear through the Minions and could do some serious damage to shadow clones, but a whole lot of Minions could, and would, tear Hidan to pieces once a couple of them got past the scythe. There isn't much that guy can do once he's thousands of itty bitty bits. Verdict: Naruto without a scratch.  
**Naruto vs Kakuzu**: This one's harder, though I'm still leaning towards Naruto. Unless he was combining his elemental abilities, I don't _think_ Kakuzu's attacks would pierce Naruto's three tailed chakra shroud. It'd be a long fight, Naruto would be using clones out the whazoo and Minions would be everywhere, Kakuzu's ranged form would deal with these pretty well all considered, but he'd probably have difficulty dodging all of the exploding Reds and invisible Greens. Kakuzu would probably haul ass once he got down to one or two hearts since Naruto doesn't have an insta-kill like the fuuma-rasenshuriken yet, but it'd be a war of attrition. Kakuzu trying to find the real Naruto to pound on while Naruto spams shadow clones and Minions to wear him down. Kakuzu would probably survive enough to escape, but he'd retreat for quite a while afterwards. Verdict: Naruto by forcing enemy to flee.  
**Naruto vs Deidara**: This is a toss-up, I think it depends on who needs to fight who more. Only Deidara's _really _big stuff can break through Naruto's three tailed chakra shroud, and a wall of Reds will seriously limit the damage even of those. But Deidara can get away from Naruto's few ranged attacks (even his Kyuubi-powered ones) with relative ease by getting himself high into the air. If Naruto had to fight Deidara, Deidara would eventually retreat after running out of clay. But if Deidara had to fight Naruto, he'd probably whip out enough explosives and landmines to seriously threaten Naruto regardless. Verdict: If it's Naruto vs. Deidara, Naruto by enemy retreat. If it's Deidara vs. Naruto, depends mostly on whether the terrain allows Naruto to get to Deidara. Deidara stands a good chance of winning if there is no way to really get into the sky.  
**Naruto vs Kisame**: Kisame, _easily_. This guy is the worst opponent for Naruto out of the entire Akatsuki. He's a better swordsman, his sword is probably more powerful and is _at least __**as **_powerful as Maelstrom, he's another stamina/chakra junkie, he's good at fighting large groups with his water-clones and his sword capable of killing multiple persons with a single swing, he uses water (which counteracts Naruto's fire magic), and his sword can eliminate the Kyuubi's chakra shroud. The _only _advantage Naruto has are the Blue Minions, which _always _have aquatic superiority, but that's not much of an advantage considering how many issues Naruto would have with this fight. And Naruto knows it. Verdict: Kisame, either by Naruto hauling ass or cornering the boy and actually capturing him.  
**Naruto vs Itachi**: This one is actually a toss up in my head. Itachi kicks ass, _lots _of ass, but so does Overlord!Naruto. I'm assuming that the Reds absorb even the black flames of Ametarasu for the purposes of this fic since their ability is magical in nature. Naruto's first instinct when facing this guy is to spam some serious Minions, get underground, and spam shadow clone. If Itachi can catch the original with Tsukuyomi, it's over. Problem: How's he know which one is the original and how does he get to him. Itachi is on a time limit, can he find the original Naruto to kick ass on before he runs out of chakra fighting the clones and Minions? Even ignoring the fact that Naruto (especially now) just wants to talk with the missing nin, I don't know which way the fight would go. (Opinions _with _reasons why would be interesting, but probably uneccessary)  
**Naruto vs Orochimaru**: Yeah yeah, he's not Akatsuki anymore I know, but I'm throwing him in because he's an S-ranked missing nin and I need as many comparisons as I can get even for my own use.  
This one is probably Naruto by Orochimaru not caring enough to continue the fight. With controlled three tailed power being enough to (at least) match the Snake Sannin physically if not overpower him, and similar abilities to pull massive numbers of reinforcements (Minions and Snakes respectively) out of thin air, it's be an epic fight. Orochimaru is the better swordsman and fighter as a whole, he has to be, he's got more experience and has had more time to learn and train, but Naruto has an effectively infinite source of power. Even without area-o'-death attacks or insta-kill techniques, Naruto would still put a hurting on Orochimaru due to the snake Sannin's bad habit of letting himself get pounded on first before taunting and killing his enemies. The Snake Sannin would also have some trouble getting through Naruto's three tailed chakra shroud. All in all, I don't think Orochimaru would be motivated enough to push himself hard enough to beat Naruto, though he stands a good chance of being _able _to do just that. Verdict: Naruto because Orochimaru doesn't care enough.  
**Naruto vs Pein**: Pein, almost hands down. The guy's got too many Game-Breaker powers in one spot to not seriously screw Naruto over. It'd be epic, it'd be amazing, there'd be absurd amounts of property damage! There'd be explosions! Death! Explosions! Naked Girls…! Oh, wait no… there wouldn't…  
Anyways, as cool as the fight would be, I'm saying Pein would win because of the 'That's no Moon no jutsu!' and 'The Force no jutsu!' as well as his ability to summon massive creatures with freaky abilities. Naruto's 'insta-army no jutsu!' really doesn't do as good against Pein's tactics as it does normally. Pein is practically built to deal with armies, Naruto is a one man army (literally).  
Scissors beats paper.

I'll add the Naruto with 'actual speed and strength' next chapter. Hope this all makes sense.

---

Anyways, Chapter… COMPLETE!!! AUTOBOTS, ROLL OUT!!!

Ja ne,

Andoriol


	5. Dueling Armies

**A.N-). **Yey for the people that kick me in the ass! Fixing the bad shit only happens when people kick my ass for making the mistake in the first place. So seriously, if I screw up, tell me so in a review.

Blerg, anyways, this came out a lot larger than I expected, it was kinda fun to write this and it would be absolutely awesome to convert into an actual manga/doujin/anime fight scene, but it's not a big deal.

I tried to keep this reasonable, but **PLEASE** tell me if anything felt extraordinarily contrived and point it out.

Oh yeah, **on Sage-Mode: **Extra-Special-No-Comment. Seriously, you guys keep bringing it up, stop it.  
There's a couple reasons why, but for the most part, I just already know exactly how I'm approaching Natural Energy/Sage Mode, so stop bringing it up. You're free to guess exactly _what _I'm going to do, but don't expect it one way or the other. Whether I use it or not, whether it's changed or rote, that's a top secret, SS-rank classified piece of information… meaning only I know and I ain't talkin'.

* * *

Aside from a slightly imperfect tone in certain points as well as feeling just a bit contrived at others, I'm actually pretty happy with this chapter. There isn't a whole lot of Overlording going on, but I actually got to show a lot of Overlord!Naruto's strengths in this version, so it'll do.

I didn't bother getting this beta'd, I wasn't in the mood to leave people without a chapter for a whole lot longer because I wanted my spelling in a rewrite to be perfect. 'Sides, I'm mostly doing this for the reviews anyways, and new chapters get reviews :D

…

*cough*

… anyways, on with the fic!

**Chapter 4 – The Dueling Armies**

"First, we have to break the barrier Lee!"

"And how do we do _that_?"

"That would be a 'Five-Seal-Barrier'."

Naruto had a theory Kakashi got his jollies by making comments like that.

Aside from Gai himself, Team Gai was momentarily startled by their sudden appearance. The eccentric Jounin seemed uncharacteristically serious as he smiled at them, "You're late, Kakashi." He sounded like he'd _expected _it. Which was totally reasonable considering who they were talking about.

Kakashi smiled as he landed on the water nearby, "Eh, well, we ran into a bit of trouble on the way."

Lee, in a horrendous outfit that mirrored Gai's even further, shouted out his greetings, "Naruto-kun! Sakura-san!"

Unable to resist, Naruto took a card out of Kakashi's book and raised a hand lazily in greeting, "Yo."

Neji, and it had to be Neji because Tenten was right there and no other Hyuuga girl would be hanging out with Team Gai, spoke with very mild surprise, "… Naruto…" _'Guh, I'm so getting tired of emotionless pretty-boys. So not bothering to read him this time.'_

Naruto did a assessment of the group, he didn't know how they'd changed. Neji was still a pretty boy, just now with long sleeves. Lee was even more of a clone of Gai with that vest. And Tenten was still stuck in a sea of testosterone, though it seemed that the girl had gone for longer sleeves and a larger sealing scroll of her own.

Analysis: Lee is even better at pinballing people around, Neji is still a genius at close combat, and Tenten has some new tricks. Oh, and Gai is as crazy as usual.

Time resumes.

"Everyone," Sakura smiled in bemusement, "You were one step ahead of us the whole time weren't you?"

Gai glanced at Chiyo where she stood just behind Kakashi and Naruto caught a flash of… something, in the man's eyes before the spandex-clad Jounin boomed (not spoke, boomed), "Who's the old lady Kakashi?"

"Ah…" there was something, different about the way Kakashi's eye slid to Chiyo, Naruto couldn't put his finger on it, but something was different about it, "She's an advisor from Suna."

Then Naruto figured it out. The two Jounin had just communicated on some personal level that Naruto just didn't get, there'd probably been an exchange of a whole lot more information right there than he thought. And no one else seemed to have picked up on it, which was surprising, 'cause he thought Chiyo might've-… oh, wait, Neji'd picked up on it, but that wasn't that surprising.

"Right! Let's go for it, Kakashi!!" Gai actually _sparkled_.

"Right."

"_What… what are those things?!"_

"_Hm? What do you mean Gnarl?"_

"_Those-those hideous things in green! What _are _they?!"_ Ah yes, Gnarl hadn't met Fuzzy-brows and Super-Fuzzy-brows yet…

"_Ah, those are our teammates Gnarl! If you think this is bad wait till they start shouting about the powers of YOUTH!!! For only then will the youthful fires of good shine brightly from their spandex clad forms!"_

The aged Minion shuddered at the thought, _"Please don't joke like that Sire! This is disgusting enough as it is!"_

Naruto felt the corner of his mouth twitch upwards even as Pakkun (who'd apparently been the one to lead Team Gai here) dispelled himself, _"Actually Gnarl… I'm kinda serious…"_

"_I… I do believe I'm going to go throw up now Sire…"_

"_Okay! Have fun! Don't do it in the throne room!" _Naruto called out cheerfully to Gnarl through their link even as he felt it fade some. With the Minion leaving the throne room the magic that linked the two of them would dim, but if necessary, they could contact each other anywhere as long as one of them was in the Netherworld.

Gai's booming voice broke Naruto out of his silent chuckles, "Right! First off, this barrier, how do we take it out Kakashi?"

"Pay attention to the name," every eye turned to Naruto, "A Five-Seal-Barrier uses a base seal, that one in this case, and four reinforcing seals to create a powerful barrier. Since this one is tag-based, I'd be betting there's four more of these within a distance of about a kilometer."

Naruto pointedly looked at Neji, who just stared at him blankly for a moment. The blonde blinked and looked around at everyone else, finding equally surprised looks on their faces, "What…? I've spent the past two years traveling and training with a Seal _Master_, you really thought I didn't learn anything about them?"

The collected ninja had the decency to look sheepish.

Naruto's head snapped back to Neji, "You're looking for four more like this one," the blonde pointed at the tag on the sizable boulder in front of them before turning back to the collected ninja, "All five have to be removed for the barrier to fall."

The Hyuuga nodded and his hands came together into a seal, there was a moment's pause and the veins around his eyes bulged.

As they waited for the prodigy to find the small things, Naruto mused on how this was probably the better choice of teams for backup. Team Kurenai was more tracking oriented whereas Team Gai was more combat oriented, Neji was mostly there to tell them where to punch. When going up against potentially S-ranked ninja, punching harder was always better.

He'd asked for Team Kurenai because he'd ran into Hinata just the day before and had forgotten that Kakashi could track. Regardless though, having a Byakuugan at hand was absurdly handy, Naruto would have to figure out a way to get a Hyuuga (Preferably Hinata or Neji) to accompany him on all of his missions from no-

"Found them."

Naruto, like the rest of the group, went from quiet relaxation to rapt attention as the white-eyed prodigy spoke, "On top of a rock about 500 meters north-east of here. On the trunk of a tree on a riverbank 350 meters south-east. On a wall of rock about 650 meters north-west. And inside a grove about 800 meters south-west."

Even as Naruto began to scowl just a bit, Gai was pulling his pack off his shoulders, "Right!" he yanked something out of the bag that Naruto didn't recognize at first, "If it's that range, we'll use these radios! While we're taking Neji's directions we can keep in communication and we'll find the locations of these tags!"

As Team Gai began attaching the radios to their collars or hitai-ate Naruto could help but smile, _'Damn, that's a good idea, I would've just sent a clone with each of them and one with a lot of chakra with Neji so it could make spares to relay information to the others. Gotta start carrying those if I'm getting a Hyuuga.'_

"Right, speed-wise my team is faster," Gai gave them a subdued (for him) grin and thumbs up, looking strange with his hitai-ate in the proper place, "The frequency is 174. Wait for our message!"

Kakashi settled his own radio more securely onto his throat, his voice serious when he spoke, "Right, it's up to you."

The sound Gai made destroyed the feelings of respect that Naruto had felt growing in his chest for the spandex-clad Jounin, "YOSH!!! Team Gai! Let's go with the full power of Youth!! Scatter!!!"

And Team Gai wasn't there anymore.

"_Gnarl?"_

"… _Yes Sire?"_

"_Be happy you missed that."_

"_Ah, the…"_

"_Fuzzy-brow-duet?"_

"_Yes, the Fuzzy-brow-duet, they shouted about youth as you'd predicted?"_

"_Yep."_

"_Was it as terrifying and disgustingly good as you'd said?"_

"_Pretty much."_

"_I pity you Sire."_

"_So do I Gnarl, so do I."_

---

It was only minutes later that Gai radioed in that they were ready, Kakashi had decided on a standard Button-Hook entry and seeing as they needed to get Gaara as soon as possible, Naruto had agreed, merely insisting he be on point due to his armor and healing capabilities. There wasn't any time for any other kind of entry.

With a nod, Kakashi yanked the large tag off the massive boulder and flipped off it onto the cliff face, "Sakura!"

The pinkette ran three steps, arm cocked back for just a moment before it snapped forward, slamming into the boulder.

Boom.

"_Damn… I know I've said it before, but __**damn**__ that girl's strong…"_

"_We've got to keep her in mind if we've ever got an infestation of Rock Giants Sire."_

"_No kidding Gnarl."_

Sakura leapt to the side opposite Naruto and Kakashi as the boulder came crumbling down in pieces.

Just as the rocks settled, Naruto tapped the Jounin on the shoulder and, with a nod, the older man pointed.

The four shinobi leapt into the room, Naruto leading the way with Maelstrom held before him, Sakura directly behind him, Kakashi and Chiyo on either side of the medic.

Protect the medic.

There, in front of them, was a giant statue… thing with its hands held palm up into the air, nine eyes on its… face… thing. Nine people standing on its raised fingertips, seven of them illusionary. But there, in the center of a glowing ball of blue that extended from its mouth, was Gaara.

Gaara, unconscious, with wisps of crimson pulling out of his eyes and mouth.

Naruto felt the anger, _'That's my friend,' _felt the rage, _'That's my __**friend**__,'_ felt the traces of fear, _'That could be me.'_

No.

Naruto wouldn't let that happen.

Naruto tapped into the rage, he touched it and reached farther, to the spell stone in the Netherworld, he grabbed its power and poured his own through it, and then he let Maelstrom take it. Take it all.

The blade ignited as Naruto brought it up and around, and with a swing, he pushed the flame out.

The Crescent Flame flew through the air and slammed into the thick stream of energy tethering the ball that contained Gaara to the statue before any of the Akatsuki could react, and did little more than make it waver.

A creepy, distorted voice rang through the cavern, "Deidara, Sasori, hold them off while we finish."

The thought that went through the retrieval teams minds was unanimous, _'Finish?!'_

Maelstrom flipped over in the air, still aflame, and the tendons in Naruto's arm tensed like a spring, swinging the blade back and sending another Crescent Flame at the tether, only for it to be intercepted by a segmented tail.

A hunched figure dropped down between them and the ball of energy, soon followed by a blonde… man?

Didn't matter.

"Kakashi! Goukakyou!" Naruto let the blades own momentum swing it around to his back, and gripping the handle with both hands, Naruto dropped deep into himself for a fraction of a second.

He touched his power.

The Kyuubi's youki came _pouring _out in a red wave of energy, surging through his armor and blade as he brought Maelstrom down in an overhead chop.

Kakashi's Goukakyou burst into existence in front of Naruto as Maelstrom came down and the chakra based technique rode a geyser of magical flame and _surged _towards the two Akatsuki.

The moment Maelstrom's edge touched dirt, Naruto's hand slipped from its hilt and continued to the dirt, slamming his palm to the stone, "_Minions_, **come**."

Thirty Browns appeared in front of Naruto, twenty Reds behind him, ten Blues behind around Sakura.

Cover the medics.

A considerable explosion tunneled through Naruto and Kakashi's combined attack, diverting it away from the statue.

His chakra shroud finished forming, the tail of pure power unfurling out behind him. He idly noted Sakura shuddering as the tail swept across her once before curling around the medic protectively.

Maelstrom came up with his right hand, the hand stopping to rest level with his head behind him as he turned that side of his body away from the statue, the flaming blade hanging horizontally in front of his face as his left hand came up to gesture at the enemy, "**Go.**"

The Browns surged forward; not caring that their bare feet touched the still scorched rocks as the rushed the two Akatsuki.

His team almost moved forward, but Naruto jerked his head just a bit and whispered to them, "Hold."

The Browns were halfway to the Akatsuki before Naruto flexed his hand, touching another spell stone in the Netherworld with his power and letting it surge out and into the Minions. His hand surged with a brief orange light of Mana and all the Minions eyes crackled with power.

Suddenly the speed of the Browns quadrupled, the already fast creatures suddenly blurring along the cavern towards the two cloaked enemies.

Explosions, _'Mines? Hidden exploding tags?' _detonations literally blew most of the Browns to pieces, a few were past before the bombs went off, but the segmented tail tore through the air and cleaved them to bits, armor and all.

"Hnn. It seems they want the Jinchuuriki back," the blonde was surprisingly nonchalant, _'Wait, explosives and blonde? That must be Deidara… and that means his hunchy buddy is Sasori. Crap.'_

Naruto didn't turn his head but whispered softly to his team, "The blondes Deidara, he uses clay bombs, the other's Sasori… Sasori's scarier than Deidara though."

---

Sakura did her best to keep her eyes on the Akatsuki in front of them instead of Naruto, she really did.

But it was hard.

His sword lighting on fire had been sorta expected, as had both of the Crescent Flames considering the tactical situation. Suddenly having red chakra surging out around him had not.

Now, he was enshrouded in a semi-transparent veil of red chakra, it just… _flowed_ around him. There were a pair of slightly elongated triangles coming off the back of his head and the same portion of the chakra that a facemask like Kakashi's would cover was raised from the rest slightly. The chakra flattened out at his shoulders and mimicked his oversized shoulder-guards, raised outward off the outside of his upper arm and extending up off his arm to be level with his neck, it was even raised over the chakra shroud that covered his shoulders.

And the _tail_.

As the shroud had formed, a long tail of the same red chakra had simply faded into existence behind Naruto, the overly warm chakra appendage had brushed against her gently and she'd shuddered unconsciously. She could _feel _the power buried in it, it'd been like meeting Orochimaru all over again, only… not as willing to kill her. The tail was warm, just on the edges of being uncomfortable… but, surprisingly, felt pleasantly fuzzy.

Then it'd curled around her some, almost… protectively. And she was reminded that this was _Naruto_, her friend and teammate. He'd always had _absurd_ amounts of chakra, it must be a kekke-genkai or something that let him access this immense red chakra.

Sakura just _knew _she was missing something, but questioning Naruto could wait till they weren't facing S-ranked missing Nin and pressed for time to save Gaara.

It seemed that the blonde Akatsuki had used a shaped charge of some kind to penetrate the enhanced Goukakyou that her male teammates had thrown at them.

There was a moment of silence as the flames died out, both of the Akatsuki seemed almost relaxed, Deidara held his hands loosely clenched in front of his waist, probably holding more explosives, Sasori was just hunched over beside him in his Akatsuki cloak.

No one moved for several long seconds, then Deidara turned his head and spoke to Sasori, Sakura couldn't hear what was being said over the hum of the jutsu being used on Gaara, but they weren't _attacking_.

"Naruto…"

Her friend turned his head just a bit within its chakra shroud and she continued, "They're stalling."

"Agreed…" Naruto's voice was soft, but deeper than usual, definitely a result of the chakra. The blonde paused for a moment even as the Akatsuki continued to talk amongst themselves, "Chiyo, can you handle Sasori for a while?"

The old woman scowled at the hunched over figure before nodding, "Yes… I might not be able to beat him myself, but I _can_ hold him off."

"Good, Sakura, you'll be supporting her," Sakura nodded, settling into a crouch as Naruto's head turned a bit towards Kakashi-sensei, "Kakashi, I'm going to rush them with summons, use that as an opportunity to create a Shadow Clone, send the clone after me. I want you to delay Deidara; Maelstrom should be able to cut that chakra tether if I can get to it."

Naruto's head turned again, back to her, "Sakura, you're backing up Chiyo only until Gaara is down, once he's out of there I want you to grab him and haul back here, Kakashi, you cover her. Once Gaara's down, I'll summon a new set of Minions to cover our escape. Any questions?"

"No."

"No."

"Nope."

"Good, on the Minions charge," the hand Naruto held out parallel to the ground dipped and more of the tan colored summons phased into existence, a lot more. Before it'd been thirty or so, now it looked more like seventy of them in addition to the red and blue ones he'd summoned before.

While the reds had little armor and the blues had even less (little more than spiked shoulder-pads and a harness really), the tan ones were fully outfitted in a style of armor that Sakura didn't recognize. Helmets, plates of non-reflective armor, forearm guards, shin-guards, and every one carried a sword of some kind or another.

The Akatsuki tensed as the summons appeared, but none of them took any action.

The two groups stared each other down, crimson still flowing out of Gaara and into the statue.

Naruto's hand came up from its place level with the bottom of his ribcage. Nothing else moved even when his arm came parallel with the ground once again.

Then his hand flexed.

The summons surged forward in a wave, quickly followed by Chiyo and herself. Sakura knew that Kakashi-sensei and Naruto were just behind them, but she was still felt the small trill of fear run through her as she charged what might've been the strongest ninja she'd ever faced.

Explosions went off as the summons charged along the ground, faster than Sakura could go, and bits of the summons literally rained down around them as they set off several of the bombs.

She did her best to ignore them.

It was made easier by the screams of _joy _the other tan ones were letting out as they charged the Akatsuki.

The pinkette focused on Chiyo and Sasori, Deidara was Kakashi's.

One of the summons in front of her suddenly dipped and ran to the side, carrying something to its chest.

Then it exploded.

'_The summons… are clearing the way…'_

Sakura pushed that from her mind and focused on her target. Not many of the summons survived the mine field, and those that did were being torn apart by Sasori's 'tail'. Sakura and Chiyo were two-thirds of the way to the pair when the older kunoichi suddenly whipped out two strings of kunai, the blades hovering in the air in front of her for a moment before launching at the puppet-master.

Time slowed down for Sakura, adrenaline pumping through her veins and training dragging out the seconds.

The tail came in front of Sasori to block the kunai, several summons ducked around to strike at the puppet-master, only to have (likely poisoned) senbon shoot out of Sasori's sides at them, Sakura put on a burst of speed as the summons died, rearing her fist back as she lunged forward. The tail suddenly moved, sweeping towards her, Sakura couldn't move in time, but she didn't have to. The tail froze not far from her, leaving the path to Sasori open. Sakura didn't question it and her fist plunged forward and into the base of Sasori's neck.

Sasori _shattered_ and a black blur leapt out of the remains to stand just before the pair of upstretched hands.

Kakashi-sensei and Naruto suddenly rushed past her, the Jounin knelt and Naruto used his back as a springboard to launch himself into the air, straight at the tether. His black blade was swung, the orange-red chakra wrapped around it tightly and extending the reach of the blade and letting it sever the chakra tether that connected Gaara to the statue.

An explosion went off behind Sakura even as she spun on the ball of her foot and ran, her eyes going up to find the ball of chakra that contained Gaara dissipating. Sakura was moving even as Gaara started to fall, a quick calculation went through her head, based on his speed, velocity, distance from her and from the ground, she would have to go at approximately seven tenths of her maximum velocity to intercept him just before he hit the ground.

She adjusted her speed, her arms shooting out as she approached the falling Kazekage, an explosion went off behind her, but she ignored it in favor of catching Gaara in a way that didn't break the young man's neck.

Naruto's summons screamed, there were a lot of them now; Sakura felt a wave of killing intent being focused on her. The Chuunin clutched the Kazekage tighter to her chest as she ran, pushing herself to get as far from the pair of Akatsuki as she could.

Another explosion, this time closer, she felt the concussion blast wash over her. Smoke and debris enveloped her; suddenly she saw red and heat washed over her. For a moment, she was afraid that a blast had caught her and her charge, but then she recognized the warm-fuzzy feeling of the red chakra that enveloped Naruto. There was a jerk of acceleration, and she found both herself and the Kazekage wrapped up in the tail of chakra that extended from Naruto's back and all of them racing for the exit.

Something white and metal black streaked past them, imbedding into the side of the exit before exploding.

Naruto veered off from the explosion and Sakura caught a glimpse of Chiyo slung under Naruto's arm, his sword gripped tightly in the other.

"Naruto! Down!"

Sakura curled around the larger Kazekage as best she could, protecting him with her body even with the chakra-tail wrapped around the two of them. Naruto listened to their sensei and dove for the dirt, his black blade coming to cover Chiyo.

Several more white and black things blurred over their head to embed into the cavern wall near the entrance, this time Sakura got a glimpse of what they were, little white birds getting impaled by kunai. One of which passed through where Naruto's head had been only moments before.

Those exploded as well, and rock began to tumble down across the entrance even as Naruto skidded along the ground.

Naruto scrambled to his feet, letting go of both kunoichi, Sakura pulling Gaara behind the armored blonde even as Kakashi-sensei skidded to a halt in front of the group.

---

"_Sonuva-! Gnarl! How many Minions do we have fully equipped?"_

"_Several hundred of every type Sire," _A quick glance back at the former entrance confirmed that the cavern had collapsed, probably intentional on the part of Deidara. Naruto focused on the Akatsuki pair across the cave, holding Maelstrom high.

With Kakashi beside him and Chiyo behind him, Naruto was reasonably confident in his ability to hold them off long enough for Sakura and the Blues to check up on Gaara.

"Mastah!"

Naruto didn't turn from the Akatsuki as the dust settled even as the Blues began to shout out random bits of info; he was too used to far too many Minions trying to tell him the same thing too many different ways at once, "Sakura… what's going on?"

The pink-haired medic was silent for a moment before speaking, but with his back turned, Naruto couldn't tell what the reason was, "Gaara's vitals aren't good… they're fluctuating and weak… but…"

"Damnit… Chiyo, do you know what it is?"

"_Sire, from what the Blues are telling me-"_

The old woman shifted closer to the Kazekage's prone form, and began to examine him herself, but the same distorted voice that had ordered Sasori and Deidara before echoed faintly across the room, the words only distinct to Naruto's enhanced senses, "We have enough, the Ichibi host is useless now, capture the Kyuubi, kill the rest."

Each hologram on the fingers flickered once before disappearing, the last one waving its arm before it did and the statue disappeared in a blast of smoke.

A terrible memory surged through Naruto's head, of something he had learned from Gnarl and Jiraiya during his seal training, _'If the Akatsuki ever pull the Kyuubi out of your gut, you die brat.' _That meant… if they'd gotten most of Shukaku out of Gaara… then Gaara!

Chiyo's soft words confirmed his fears, "They've almost entirely extracted the Bijuu… his life-force is fading fast…"

"Shit-!" Naruto cut off his curse and shook his head, forcing his red eyes back onto the Akatsuki, "Damn… how long do we have?"

The two kunoichi didn't speak for a long moment even as the black covered thing that had leapt out of Sasori pulled off its hood to reveal a red-headed young man in an Akatsuki cloak, _'Probably the real Sasori,' _then Sakura hesitantly spoke, "I… think we might have thirty minutes… maybe an hour…"

"You actually care, hmm?"

The entire team stiffened at the blonde Akatsuki's voice, but Deidara continued in a slightly confused, but entirely relaxed tone, "I heard that Jinchuuriki generally hate people because of their own bad moods… mm." He tilted his head to the side, one hand in the pouch at his hip as the other dangled at his side, "But this Gaara was unusual too… so far there haven't been any Jinchuuriki that cared about others… the other one that was captured, it seems not a single person came to his rescue mm."

"Deidara… shut up… you're drawing this out unnecessarily."

Chiyo's head snapped up at Sasori's voice so fast that Naruto _heard _it, making him ask quietly over his shoulder as the two Akatsuki bickered, "What is it?"

"Sasori…" the old woman was beyond surprised at the moment, "He hasn't changed…"

"… damn… that means something's up…" Naruto scowled, reviewing what he knew about the two of them, Deidara used clay explosives, Sasori was supposed to be the greatest puppeteer ever. Well, explosives weren't that hard to figure out, they seemed to be animated clay considering that Naruto had caught glimpses of white birds streaking this way or that before detonating. What did he know about puppets though?

… not much, Suna was really the only village that made extensive use of the things, and Naruto had never come into aggressive contact with Suna nin, so he didn't know what to really expect.

"Chiyo… brief us on ninja puppets…" Naruto slowly adjusted his stance slowly, leaning Maelstrom's still flaming blade against his right shoulder, his left hand leaving its hilt and dipping towards the ground. Even with the Kyuubi's power and already enhanced senses, Naruto barely caught Deidara's very brief and subtle stiffening as Naruto's hand stopped a foot above the rocky floor, but the blonde Akatsuki didn't stop in his nonchalant conversation with Sasori.

'_They might seem relaxed as hell, but they're completely aware of what's going on. Those two are on a completely different skill level from Sakura and me… but I'm on a whole different power level.'_

"Puppets are usually controlled from behind with chakra strings… but the hunched over form Sasori had before _was _a puppet, Hiruko. However, whatever puppet Sasori pulls out will have a considerable number of hidden traps that can launch attacks from anywhere…" Naruto could hear the scowl in the woman's quiet voice, "There is also the issue of poison."

Naruto nodded, "That same stuff he'd used on Kankurou probably…" he did a quick glance back, "That means we have to dodge everything then huh?" Naruto wouldn't, not really. His chakra-shroud would protect him from most of the problems and the Kyuubi's youki would purge any poison from his body in under a minute. But his team _would _have to dodge.

"Indeed, to avoid the attacks you have to know the ins and outs of the traps that can be set in a master-craftsman puppet… and have to have the ability to react to the situation and avoid in an instant…"

There was a pause, soon filled with Sakura's voice, "Knowledge of traps… instant reaction… I have neither of those…" It wasn't a terrified assessment, merely an honest appraisal of her abilities; if anything, the pink-haired medic was _irritated _with her inability to perform. Naruto's estimation of his teammate rose again.

"Well of course," if Naruto could've kicked the old woman for that tone, he would've, "For those you need lots of combat experience."

"Then… how?"

"What do I look like to you? Just a helpless old hag…?" the woman's hat dropped to the dirt, and her eyes flicked to Naruto and Kakashi, "Leave her to me… that's why I'm here."

For a moment, Naruto was hesitant to leave his friends life in her hands, but forced himself to accept that the old hag probably knew what she was talking about, "Alright… you keep her safe, you hear?"

Naruto ignored the brief scowl this earned him from Sakura in favor of watching Chiyo's face as she knelt beside the medic, her hand resting on the younger woman's shoulder, "Don't worry, I will. Their combat experience pales in comparison to mine."

---

Deidara's eyes flicked between the four shinobi arrayed against them, his art had been intercepted on its way to the Jinchuuriki, but had been pinned to the cavern mouth, trapping their opponents inside with him and Sasori. Though the cavern was large, it wasn't large enough to be comfortable to fly around in, the environment favored his master considerably more than himself at the moment.

Oh well, if an artist doesn't get high levels of inspiration, his sentiments are dulled, mm.

Sasori and him didn't work together very often, their arts were effectively mutually exclusive, unless this was a serious challenge, the two of them would probably alternate attacking the enemies. If this turned serious though, Sasori would have to pull out a large number of his puppets, and Deidara would simply attach explosives to their backs, detonating them as necessary.

Deidara had spent the past minute or so arguing with his master over who would get to take the first attack, Sasori wanted to because he didn't like to wait, but Deidara didn't want to risk Sasori ending things too fast.

They'd bickered back and forth with that, and Deidara had tensed when the armored Jinchuuriki's (he had to be the Jinchuuriki, only they had the chakra required to create a chakra-shroud) hand had dipped towards the ground, those summons had been a pain, mm.

Deidara had been hard pressed to dodge Copy-Cat-Kakashi's lighting attack, only substituting out with an exploding clone at the last moment, and the Jounin had substituted away before the blast caught him, he would've seen it coming from farther away if he hadn't had to worry about the summons.

Now though, as both of them were more reaction types, they'd decided to let the group that'd come for the Ichibi to make the first move.

The kunoichi both stood up and moved to stand beside their companions and it was Sasori that spoke, "So… you're finally ready? I'm sure you know I don't like to be kept waiting."

"Don't worry," the Jinchuuriki smirked from within his chakra-shroud, "We'll kill you quick."

Deidara _almost _laughed, but this was the kid that had _cut _Pein's sealing technique, the same kid that had summoned more individual creatures than Deidara had ever seen done at once, the same brat that contained the Kyuubi, the strongest of the Bijuu.

That and the kid had actually been kinda scary when he said that, mm.

The Jinchuuriki's hand flexed and suddenly smoke billowed out around him and there were almost a hundred of those armored tan summons that had attacked before surrounding the armored blonde and his buddies.

"Hm… this might be a little difficult, eh master?" the clay he'd palmed before was eaten, and molded into several small hummingbirds, penetrator explosives, they'd blow lines out of those summons if need be.

"Mm… doubtful…" Deidara noted the scroll being pulled from Sasori's sleeve as the red-haired man unrolled it, there was a blast of smoke as suddenly Sasori's favorite puppet for once he lost Hiruko, one of the old Kazekage's.

"That's-!" _'Hm… the old woman sounds surprised, mm… she actually might've been alive to see this guy in action then… she might recognize him.'_

"What is it Chiyo?" the Jinchuuriki sounded irritated to be left out of the loop, and it brought a smile to Deidara's face.

"That's… the Sandaime Kazekage…"

"… shit…"

Now _that _brought an amused smile to Deidara's face as he and Sasori settled into combat stances, the puppeteer draping his puppet across his back, "Well… let us begin…"

"Sasori…" the old woman _growled _at Deidara's partner, the way the old bat's face darkened was actually kinda creepy with all the wrinkles and things. It was crap like that that reaffirmed Deidara's choice of art, making shit last just wasn't worth it, "You haven't just fallen to the level of a mere criminal… but you've betrayed your village, and gone after the Kazekage three times…!"

Both blondes as well as the pink-haired girl blinked at that and looked at the old woman, Deidara knew that Sasori had gone after the one he was using as a puppet, and the old bat probably thought he'd gone after the Ichibi one as well (even though it was Deidara's superior art that had brought down _this _Kazekage), but that was just two… what made this hag think Sasori had gone after the Kazekage _three _times?

The blonde Jinchuuriki asked the question Deidara was thinking and about as eloquently, "Huh…?"

"It was Orochimaru that killed the Yondaime Kazekage, Gaara's father, but it was _Sasori_ that guided him, he's gone after Gaara and even the Sandaime!" the old hag's hands flexed in a way that was familiar to Deidara from watching Sasori fight outside of Hiruko before, it was the angry flex of a puppeteer's hands. Old bat was a puppeteer! But… where were her puppets?

"Hey hey, I don't know about the Yondaime. It was my subordinate that did that…" Sasori didn't really sound angry, maybe a bit irritated, but not really angry, "… though, I originally partnered with Orochimaru in the Akatsuki, so we did many things…"

"You…" whoa, was that the pink-haired girl? "**You know about Orochimaru**_._"

'_Ooh!' _Deidara's eyebrows went up, _'That's actually kinda scary, mm… glad I'm not Sasori right now…'_

"Well… let's go," the Sandaime Kazekage flew forward and Deidara took off to the right, hugging the cavern wall. The Jinchuuriki launched forward, the tan summons surging ahead and around him.

Just as the two forces started to meet, Sasori's puppet swerved up, its left arm coming out and the traps inside activating. Flaps opened, seals activated, and hundreds of puppet arms extended from the Sandaime's arm and stabbed into the mass of summons.

The Jinchuuriki threw his sword up sideways, Sasori's attack deflecting off the flat side of the black blade and diverted around the boy.

Deidara grinned, _'Like that's really going to protect him, mm.'_

Jets of poison gas suddenly started pouring out of the small forest of puppet arms, and the pink-haired girl screamed the Jinchuuriki's name, Narudo or something. Sad really, though the way those summons were gagging and choking was absolutely _hilarious_! The ones that hadn't been impaled by and arm were making exaggerated sounds as the choked and died, funniest damn thing Deidara had seen in a while.

Sections of puppet arms suddenly disengaged and pointed at the two kunoichi, firing a swarm of poisoned kunai at the tw-!

Two!

Deidara leapt up as a mess of shuriken swept through where he'd been standing only a half second before and even over the thunking of kunai hitting stone, Deidara heard the deep intake of breath.

One of the birds he'd palmed was flicked out in the direction of the sound, instantly buzzing as it took off on its own, Deidara turned in the air to face the inhale, finding Copy-Cat-Kakashi already exhaling. The blonde Akatsuki flew through his seals, bringing up his one hand up in the final seal as his art met Kakashi's sizable fireball.

The shaped charge blew a hole in the jutsu, bursting the supposedly impressive technique like a soap bubble.

It was at this point that the white-haired Jounin ran underneath the dissipating techniques at a speed that Deidara's eyes had trouble following.

'_This… might be bad, mm… nowhere to go, guess I'll have to use C1 then, mm…' _Deidara's hand dove into his clay pouch.

The Akatsuki tossed the remaining three hummingbirds at Kakashi, the damnedable Sharingan-user dodging too and fro around the directed explosions. But those were just a distraction. His other hand finished sculpting a mass of mini-bombs, a mass that he threw in the Jounin's direction. Even from here Deidara could see Kakashi's eyes widen.

'_Art, is a bang!' _

---

'_Damn, almost had that thing.' _

Naruto ignored the explosions coming from the other side of the cavern in favor of the retreating form of the Sandaime, now missing an arm courtesy of Naruto himself.

That poison gas crap was the exact reason he wanted a mask of green hide, he'd held his breath and his chakra-shroud had filtered out most of it, but he'd still breathed in a bit of the stuff and he was all herky jerky with his chakra control at the moment. Thankfully though, it hadn't really started to affect his body until _after _he'd ran up the puppets arms and swung Maelstrom at it.

Sasori had yanked the puppet out of the way, but Naruto had still been able to remove the things left arm.

Of course, it had counterattacked with a bunch of really sharp knives that had burst out above the other arm, which were surprisingly capable of piercing his chakra-shroud, but unable to get past his cuirass. Too bad for Sasori that he'd aimed for Naruto's chest. Even flying backwards and through the chakra-shroud, Naruto had felt the impact of the blades, the puppeteer had probably expected to partially pierce the armor and inject a considerable amount of poison into Naruto.

Not for the first time, Naruto thanked the magical enhancement his armor had been given.

Naruto glanced to be sure that the Greens he'd interspersed with the Browns he'd summoned had faded from sight and were crawling towards Sasori, he'd expected a poison attack, though not the swarm of arms.

He saw something else unexpected, a pair of dark forms were flying through the air past Naruto and towards Sasori's puppet, the blonde had to stifle the reflexive twitch of his muscles to cleave fast-moving unknowns in half with Maelstrom. The pair of puppets sprouted weapons of their own as a spinning saw-blade replaced the Sandaime Kazekage's lost arm.

Naruto ignored the engaging puppets, glancing back to be sure that it was Chiyo that was controlling the new puppets before checking on Kakashi's fight.

The Jounin was stalemated with Deidara, the blonde Akatsuki was riding a clay bird and creatively using his explosives to 'pop' Kakashi's attacks. However, Deidara didn't have a whole lot of room to maneuver, and Kakashi knew a number of Doton far better than Naruto himself did. The Jounin seemed to be slowly forcing his blonde opponent into a corner. Naruto didn't have to worry too much about Kakashi right now.

A particularly loud clang brought Naruto's attention snapping back to the puppet's battle just as it ended, Chiyo's puppets breaking away from Sasori's. Chiyo's were breaking to either side though…

'_Thank you Oba-chan-!'_

Maelstrom came down and Naruto's power surged out, a Crescent Flame cleaving between Chiyo's puppets straight at the Sandaime just as a flash of pink caught Naruto's eyes.

Sasori yanked the Sandaime to the side with surprising quickness, but even though the compressed flame barely singed the puppets cloak in passing, the puppet was unable to completely dodge Sakura's punch.

Completely unstealthy scream or no.

The puppets right arm ceased to exist, bits and pieces of it and it was a sign of how good Sasori really was that he was able to save the puppet at all. Even pulling the Sandaime Kazekage back as fast as he could, the puppeteer was merely scowling, not worried, which meant he probably had another trick or two up his sleeves, and if he wasn't discarding the puppet in favor of pulling out another, that meant the Sandaime had several big traps left, even without its arms.

'_Not if I can help it.' _"Sakura! Get back!" As Naruto brought his flaming Ōdachi back up with his right hand, he extended his left and sent out the command to his Greens and Reds, _"__**Attack.**__"_

A couple of the invisible Greens were close enough to leap at Sasori and his puppet, and Sasori used the Sandaime as a shield to catch the leaping Greens. The now attached Minions began to stab at the puppet even as the other Greens charged in along the ground.

Sasori threw up his hand as he threw the puppet aside by its strings with the other. Naruto was confused for the briefest of moments before a little tube suddenly extended from the red-head's palm.

The jet of flame consumed the charging Greens and Sakura suddenly flew back as if on a string, yanked away from the flames by the chakra-strings that Chiyo had attached to her just in case of something crazy like this. Naruto was beyond glad that the old woman knew what she was doing.

Fire began to approach Naruto, but he merely flexed his hand in a way not so different from what Sasori was doing and summoned several Reds, holding one up by the back of its neck. No matter how intense the flames, unless the Reds allowed it to stay, their skin would absorb the flame, and Naruto's Reds had been trained to already be actively absorbing flame when summoned just in case of things like this.

Naruto gritted his teeth as the flame stopped at the small pile of Reds he'd summoned, Maelstrom's flaming blade shielded his right and the choking Minion he held kept the fires from reaching him from the left. Even so, he still felt some of the heat through his chakra-shroud.

"_Sire, the Red's attacking him will reach the puppeteer in three, two-!"_

Naruto trusted Gnarl, knowing the Minion Master saw the battlefield from above rather than from Naruto's point of view.

"_-one, now Sire!"_

With a thought, the Kyuubi's power surged down the link to the Red's farthest from him and suddenly there was a second set of explosions going off in the cavern.

The flames cut off and Naruto dropped the Minion in his hand and chambered a kick.

Most people would've found the gleeful screams of the Minions amusing as Naruto drove the sole of his foot into the pile of Reds, the Kyuubi enhanced kick sending them scattering in the general direction of Sasori. Once he felt they were far enough, Naruto clenched his fist and sent another surge of power through them forcing them to explode on command this time rather than letting them do so at their discretion.

The carpet bombing didn't seem to do much more than kick up a lot of dirt and debris, since only moments later a blurred form leapt out of the smoke to land on the wall.

A scowl crossed Naruto's face, he'd expected the Akatsuki to be tough, but the Jinchuuriki had hoped a concerted attack from himself, Sakura, and Chiyo would've done him in.

Apparently it hadn't, but from the looks of things, they'd really pressed him.

Sasori's Akatsuki cloak was torn up and the puppeteer looked for all the world, pissed and ever so slightly worried.

"_Hm… it seems he's a puppet himself Sire… bah! You'll have to destroy the whole thing to be sure he doesn't put himself back together."_

Naruto flexed his left hand before throwing it towards the ground, palm first, controlling the chakra surging through his arm well enough that the smoke his summoning was more of a mist this time. One hundred Minions, sixty Browns, and twenty each of Reds and Greens. A quick glance confirmed that the Blues he'd stationed back near Gaara had snatched up some of the dead Browns after the poison had dispersed and had resurrected them, giving the kunoichi and Gaara some more muscle backing them up.

"You…" Naruto focused back on Sasori as the puppet-master dropped from the cavern wall, "Are very irritating…"

The armored teen grinned at his opponent and stepped off the mass of arms left over from the Sandaime's first attack, both of them ignoring the explosions coming from Kakashi and Deidara's fight, "Thanks, I try so hard. See, Orochimaru irritates the hell out of me, and if you were the bastard that helped teach him… well I've just _got_ to beat your face in…" Naruto's toothy grin became far more sinister, "That bastard made himself very difficult to find, and I just _have _to thank you for that now don't I?"

The man sneered just a bit, his left hand coming up to start to pull apart the buttons of his cloak, of course Naruto's eyes snapped to Sasori's left hand to check what it was doing, but the hand was still hidden by the cloak.

Naruto didn't really pay attention to what Sasori was saying in favor of listening and looking around as discreetly as he could. He didn't trust that Sasori wasn't doing something with his right hand.

A sound that Naruto was only vaguely familiar with reached his ears, something that shouldn't be there with Gaara unconscious.

The sound of compressed sand shifting. He'd have to investigate that.

Sasori dropped his burnt and slightly tattered cloak and Naruto's red eyes snapped back to the red-head.

If Gnarl hadn't already guessed that Sasori had turned himself into a puppet, Naruto's jaw would've probably dropped. The guy's arms were segmented (Naruto knew there were flamethrowers in there), there was a spool of thick rope in the guys stomach, bladed arms were unfolding from the guys back, (there never seemed to be anything in a puppets legs) and his chest had two compartments that were obvious to Naruto's eyes.

Dude was a _freak_.

The spiked end of the rope stabbed into the dirt and Sasori stood on the rope itself as it unfurled, which was another cool trick that only Naruto's opponents seemed to get, "I haven't used this one since I joined the Akatsuki… it's really been a while since I've used _myself_."

A scowl settled onto Naruto's face and he swung Maelstrom up and around, letting his power surge through it as it passed behind him. The mass of puppet arms behind him ignited as magical flames washed over it and Naruto settled himself into a high guard, both hands on Maelstrom as he held it steady above his head.

Chiyo and Sakura were talking, the older woman was probably explaining something to Sakura, but Naruto focused on the Akatsuki in front of him. Letting his magical power pulsing and surging both through his armor and sword, and out into the Minions surrounding him, empowering them and readying them for anything the Akatsuki might throw at them.

For a long moment, the two of them merely stared at each other, but Naruto was impatient by nature and Sasori hated to keep people waiting. Naruto slowly adjusted his stance and Sasori's fingers twitched.

Naruto took this as his cue and did his best seal-less kawamiri with the shadow clone he'd created back under the cover of smoke when he'd summoned his second slew of Browns. Naruto found himself underground and suppressed the Kyuubi's chakra, letting the shadow clone imitate its power. He closed his eyes and focused on the link Gnarl had with him, the aged Minion saw the world from above Naruto, and when Naruto focused, he could see himself that way as well.

As it was, it gave Naruto a view of the world above ground, centered on where he was at the moment, not far from being right underneath Sasori's feet.

With a grin, Naruto put his hands into a familiar seal.

'_Sasori is _so _screwed.'_

---

Sasori stared at the small army arrayed against him and considered his options.

It seemed the red summons were immune to fire, and the green ones were immune to his poison, the tan ones were the best equipped though… they were likely the toughest fighters. And the bright blue ones back near Grandma Chiyo and the pink-haired girl probably did something as well… possibly being immune to water techniques?

In any case, Sasori wasn't entirely sure his armaments were suited for this kind of combat. His spiked rope could do some damage as well as the blades on his back… but those green ones had leaped a considerable ways to get to the Sandaime… they would likely be able to leap onto his back if he began to tear through the crowd… and there was also the Jinchuuriki himself to worry about.

He watched the Jinchuuriki carefully, though it didn't show on his puppet face. Sasori was confident in his ability to defeat the armored blonde eventually, but he _was _aware there was such a thing as overconfidence. _Especially_ when his opponent was the Kyuubi.

Between the teen's armor and chakra-shroud, his defenses were strong. The boy was also fast with that large sword, which was almost certainly good at more than just lighting things on fire.

If Sasori used his flamethrowers, the red ones would break through, if he used water jets, the blue ones were likely to get close to him, poison gas would invite the green ones, and the tan ones might be able to fight off his blades… regardless of which weapon he used, or even if he used them in concert, there was a chance the summons would break through to him.

And that meant there was a chance they'd make an opening for the Jinchuuriki.

Sasori would prefer to avoid getting hit by that blade on the off chance the flames would engulf his core even if the sword itself missed.

Thankfully, the blonde seemed to have forgotten about the Sandaime, and even though the puppets arms _had _been removed, its torso was still intact enough to use its signature jutsu. A twitch of the fingers on his right hand while he'd pulled off his tattered cloak had been enough to set the iron filings pouring out of the puppet.

Sasori carefully weighed the odds that the iron sand alone would be enough to balance the fight between himself and the summons.

They were in his favor, though not massively considering the number of summons arrayed against him… but he needed to _capture _the Jinchuuriki, not kill him…

Poisoned Iron Sand was much more suited to _killing _his opponent than capturing… he'd keep the Sandaime reserve and go right to his Akahigi, Hyakki no Souen. The puppets of his collection would negate the Jinchuuriki's advantage of numbers as well as give him a better way of restraining the armored blonde.

A twitch of a finger and the appropriate scroll left its place on the rack, unfurling above his head, "I do _so _hate making people wait…" chakra _surged _through the sealing scroll and the puppets began to appear, "So let's end this quickly."

---

'_That's… a lot of puppets…' _Sakura couldn't help but gape at the number of puppets Sasori had just summoned, at first estimation there were about a _hundred _of the things floating in the air above the puppeteer.

She could see Naruto actually pause at the force arrayed against him, then he _laughed_.

'_Naruto-! What are you doing?! That's nothing to laugh at!'_

'**Shannaro! No way would my man be worried about an army! He's got one of his own!'**

Sakura… couldn't really disagree with her more forceful personality. Her teammate had the right to laugh, Sasori might have an army… but so did Naruto, and Naruto could replenish his at will, Sasori (probably) couldn't.

She couldn't hear exactly what her friend said to the Akatsuki, but it seemed to amuse the red-haired man. Naruto raised his left hand and Sasori leaned forward.

Minions surged forward in a screaming wave, Sasori's puppet hurtling towards them in a clicking swarm and armies clashed. Small fireballs would shoot out of the swarm of summons and puppets would burst into flame, some of Naruto's summons would shoot out of the swarm and latch onto puppets, ripping off bits and pieces before the puppet would crash into the swarm of summons hard enough to crack the cavern floor, killing them both.

At first, the tan summons were more than a match one on one against the puppets, often jumping onto the puppets weapon as it swung and cutting the puppet in half as the summon ran up its arm. But as the number of puppets decreased, their apparent skill and speed increased till they were about even with the tan summons in a straight fight; however, the puppets had the advantage of flight over _the entire_ summons.

Then Chiyo swung her arms and Sakura turned to see what the older kunoichi was doing.

Chiyo-oba-sama had turned from the fight with Sasori towards Kakashi-sensei's and had sent her two puppets after Deidara.

The puppets danced around Deidara and the wires strung between the two cleaved both the blonde and his clay bird into a number of pieces, but Kakashi-sensei flew through several seals and released a stream of fire straight at the ground.

For an instant, Sakura was confused, then one of the rocks on the cavern floor turned into Deidara as he leapt away from the stream, his hands flying up out of the pouches at his side towards Kakashi-sensei. White things flew at the Jounin and Deidara's hands came together into a seal, the white things became s pair of large clay birds that went even _faster _at Kakashi-sensei.

Sakura didn't even get a chance to start to shout her sensei's name in the second it took for the birds to reach the Jounin and detonate just as Deidara skidded to a halt on the cavern floor, one hand diving back into a pouch as he turned towards Naruto's fight.

The pink-haired Chuunin almost ran to intercept the blonde, but Chiyo's hands flexed and the puppets surged towards Deidara's back. The blonde chucked something over his shoulder and the puppets barely avoided the explosion, but the evasion gave the Akatsuki enough time to create another bird to ride on.

The pair of puppets surged back towards Deidara, weapons at the ready, but the Akatsuki sent several small, clay bird streaking towards the kunoichi and Gaara with a sweep of his hand.

Sakura immediately leapt in front of her charges without a thought, the thought came as her fist came back, _'WhatdoIdo-?'_

'**Make a wall.'**

Her fist came down hard and the ground buckled, mass of stone and dirt jutting up in front of them.

The first explosion shook the ground and cracked the stone.

The second blew off half of the ad-hoc wall.

Two black blurs appeared in front of Sakura.

The third explosion turned the mass of dirt and stone into debris.

The fourth and fifth was just overkill.

Time resumed normal speed as the heat from the blasts washed over Sakura and the pinkette stared at the two puppets in front of her, surprised that Chiyo had gotten them there in time, both puppets had chakra shields deployed and the old woman behind Sakura was panting from the expenditure of chakra required to deflect the blast.

Sakura almost thanked the woman before she suddenly found herself yanked back forcefully, letting out a small shout when she did.

Then she noticed the white centipede that had been at her feet.

It exploded too.

Sakura felt the chakra strings attached to her snap and she hit the dirt, doing her best to control her tumble despite the burns and bruises she'd just gotten. Her first priority was Gaara; the Kazekage couldn't defend himself right now, an explosion like that-!

She scrambled to her feet, her eyes darting around, _'There-!'_

The Kazekage had been blown several yards from where he'd been before, Sakura ran over towards him, stumbling once as the pain in her left leg spiked. She ignored that as best she could as she skidded on her knees to the prone Kazekage.

Another explosion went off close and Sakura glanced up, already flipping Gaara onto his back.

It looked like Chiyo had used the remains of her puppets to deflect another attack from Deidara. The Akatsuki was starting to turn towards massive brawl that was Naruto and Sasori's fight.

'_Tch, I can't be in two places at once damnit!' _Sakura focused on what she was good at, healing. Green medical chakra burst into life around her hands as she examined Gaara, the sand armor on his skin was cracked even more than before and his vitals were fluctuating wildly. _'Damnit!' _Sakura came as close to forcing as medical techniques could go as she poured chakra into the red-heads torso, _making _his heart beat steady and _making _his breathing even out.

She would prove she wasn't useless! There was no way she'd let Gaara die!

Sakura didn't even notice the cool dampness above her left hip.

---

'_There mm. Those two are out of the fight.'_

Deidara turned his attention back to his master's fight with the Jinchuuriki. It'd be hard to involve himself into this fight without destroying some of his master's art. The armored blonde had dropped his chakra shroud to be less visible in the massive brawl and any time a puppet got close to him he cut it in two with his flaming sword.

_Not _a fate Deidara wanted for himself.

He brought his bird up against the ceiling above the brawl, the Jinchuuriki and Sasori guiding their respective armies from opposite ends of the small war.

Kakashi, the sharingan bastard, had really pressed Deidara. He hadn't had a single chance to get any of his bigger moves ready, especially the ones that would be effective in this (relatively) small cavern. It'd been a combination of luck and skill that the Jounin couldn't adjust his aim quickly enough to avoid getting blasted. Deidara had been mostly making it up on the spot and tossing small, half-formed bombs to avoid getting stabbed.

Now though, with the opportunity to really sculpt some clay, he was almost out.

'_That's infuriating mm… the moment I get a chance to really show off my art and I don't have much material to work with…'_

They didn't want to _kill _the Jinchuuriki… a C1 spider on his back would probably disable him though.

With a grin, Deidara slid a hand into his clay pouch and began to shape the explosive clay into the form he envisioned. It'd create a concussive shockwave directed from the spider's abdomen directly into the Jinchuuriki's back; it'd be like a hammer-blow rather than the chaotic beauty of a less-controlled explosion.

He leaned a bit and the bird adjusted its course, tilting to fly over the armored teen at the edge of the brawl rather than staying just beyond the mass of combat.

Then it stopped following Deidara's commands.

The clay owl jerked and dipped before suddenly flying straight at the roof of the cavern. Confused but not unable to react, Deidara leapt off the bird, a quick glance showed that the old woman, the puppeteer, had attached chakra strings to Deidara's bird at some point. What little worry Deidara had felt bubbling in his chest calmed, the old bat had just tried to grind him into the ceiling, annoying, but not absurdly so as long as she didn't have pupp-

Deidara's eyes darted around to be sure that the woman hadn't sent any puppets at him as he fell.

-as long as she didn't have any real _puppets _she wasn't that much of a threat.

He still had about two thirds of the cavern till he hit the ground, so he quickly changed the shaping of the clay still in his hand, turning it into another artistic but functional bird as fast as he could, _'Now all I've got to do is toss it and get on befo- What's that sound?!'_

Deidara's head jerked up just in time to see a ball of crackling lighting plunge into the left side of his chest.

---

Sasori watched the battle carefully, for every puppet destroyed he could focus more on the remaining ones, increasing their speed, strength, and coordination. But he had a limited number of puppets and the Jinchuuriki seemed to have a limitless supply of summons and the chakra necessary to summon _more_.

Every time Sasori had thought he'd worn down the numbers of summons, the Jinchuuriki had slapped his hand to the floor and there'd suddenly been another fresh batch of the things.

The tan ones were _individually_ almost equal to a Jounin in close combat, the red and green ones a Chuunin, and the blue ones might've been a bit stronger than Gennin. However, the red and green ones could throw fireballs and leap insane distances respectively, whereas the blue ones could actually bring the others back to life.

Sasori had to focus his puppets efforts on the tan ones to keep them from just powering through the puppets to Sasori himself, but whenever he did that, the green ones would leap onto their back and start to take a puppet apart piece by piece with the blades attached to their arms. The red ones were the least dangerous from Sasori's point of view, a flaming puppet worked just as well as one that wasn't on fire, but Sasori kept having to pull puppets in front of him to intercept fireballs meant for himself.

It was right about the point where Sasori felt things were taking too long that a large white bird suddenly plunged towards him.

The thing was cut into pieces by several puppets before it even got close, but the mere fact that a clay bird had been _aiming _at him told him something was wrong.

A quick glance confirmed that Deidara was nowhere to be seen, at least not over the massive fight that Sasori's puppets were a part of. That meant that either the blonde had abandoned Sasori, or more likely, gotten himself killed.

For a moment, a small part of Sasori's still beating heart felt sadness at the loss of his most recent, absolutely irritating (most of the time) partner. Their little debates on what _true _art was had been far more interesting than Orochimaru's pestering and obsession with immortality. And now the boy had probably gotten himself killed. Pity.

Then the moment was gone and Sasori, already cold and ruthless, analyzed the situation.

He was now arrayed against possibly four shinobi: the infamous Copy-Cat Kakashi, the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki, his grandmother, and another girl that had terrifying punches.

He'd better finish this quick.

Sasori sent a pulse of chakra down the strings that he'd left attached to the Sandaime, it was time to activate his power and use the Iron Sand to clear the area.

And nothing happened.

His eyes widened, a residual reflex from before he turned himself into a puppet.

Sasori's head jerked to the Sandaime to find his favorite puppet had been quite literally torn to pieces while he wasn't looking. He almost cursed as his full focus returned to his functioning puppets, this wasn't good, without the Sandaime's magnetic abilities as a trump card, Sasori's confidence in his ability to defeat the Jinchuuriki as well as his grandmother and Copy-Cat Kakashi dropped considerably.

The teen had already destroyed almost two thirds of his puppets with his summons and showed no signs of tiring. Now, without a trump card, that put him on edge.

His hands came up, the flamethrower nozzles adjusting as he maneuvered his puppets out of the way of the soon-to-be streams of death. He'd add the weapons of his own puppet to the melee and thin the herd of summons quicker to keep his current pupp-

The ground beneath him suddenly bulged upwards in the complete opposite of a crater.

Sasori looked down suddenly before _throwing _himself away from the ground, pushing away with the rope that came out of his gut, only a moment later the ground exploded outwards as the Jinchuuriki leapt after him, a swirling ball of light in his outstretched hand. That had been close-! Whatever that was couldn't be good for hi- the boy was grinning!

The puppeteer's head jerked up in time to see an arc-shaped blade of flame flying straight at him from the Jinchuuriki still commanding the summons.

Sasori bailed.

---

Naruto's Crescent Flame cleaved through Sasori's waist, but Naruto wasn't done. The real Naruto threw himself out of the stone wall behind Sasori and Maelstrom came down tip-first.

Sasori's torso was pinned to the cavern floor face first with Naruto's Ōdachi impaled through him.

All of the puppets still operating fell to the ground and the Minions let out a victory howl shaking their weapons over their heads happily, some of them dancing together, others arguing over how got what weapons from the fallen puppets. When Sasori didn't move for a long moment, Naruto let out a sigh of relief.

Well, he might've wanted to keep Sasori alive long enough to question him about Orochimaru, but it looked like the guy wasn't as hard to kill as Naruto had been expecting. With a puppet body, Naruto had expected Sasori to be _much _harder to put down permanently, but it looked like a good stab even with a normal Maelstrom was enough to bring him down.

Naruto let his clones dispel and loosened his grip on Maelstrom's hilt just a hint, making sure his feet were planted solidly on Sasori's arms to be sure that even if Sasori was just playing dead, he'd be unable to turn those flamethrowers against him. The blades and cord had been removed by the Crescent Flame to the stomach region.

Taking a deep breath, Naruto looked out over the small sea of Minions and puppet pieces, ignoring the antics of the Minions through almost two years of practice (Some were wearing the remains of puppet heads as helmets, others were experimentally waving around the weapons the puppets had wielded as well as the trap laden arms, others were fighting violently over the choice pieces of weaponry) and searched for his friends.

Kakashi was kneeled over the prone form of Deidara, checking the Akatsuki member for a pulse with a kunai in his other hand. Chiyo seemed to be kneeled over Gaara's prone form, medical chakra visible to Naruto's enhanced vision even from here. Sakura… ah, there she was, stumbling towards Naruto around the Minions.

Naruto tilted his head and looked her over, worried by her stumble. There were a number of burns on her body as well as several tears in her clothes; worse, it seemed she had a limp from an injury to her leg. He almost got up off Sasori's body to go check her himself, but stayed where he was to be sure the puppeteer wouldn't get up, wait… what was with that look on her face-?

---

Sakura was limping towards Naruto as quickly as she could while healing the small fracture in her hip, Sakura had used a _lot _of chakra to try and heal Gaara and keep him stable. She'd done some, but nowhere near enough. She was starting to run low on chakra and Gaara still needed miles of help. Chiyo-oba-sama had surprised her with medical techniques, but it wouldn't be enough, the older woman didn't have a tenth of the chakra Sakura knew they'd need to try and get Gaara stable enough to transport.

Sakura only knew one person that did.

Now that his fight was over (Thank goodness Sasori was down, one of the syringes had been broken by the concussion of Deidara's bombs), she was going to get him back over there to the Kazekage so they could borrow some of his absurd reservoirs of chakra to stabilize Gaara. She was just getting within comfortable speaking distance when something behind her friend caught her eye.

'_What is tha-? It's a puppet!' _almost silently, the puppet behind her friend stood, and Naruto didn't notice-!

The pain in her hip didn't matter, the small cuts and full body bruising didn't matter, the protestations of her chakra systems didn't matter. Getting to Naruto _**now**_, before that puppet attacked, _did._

---

Naruto had been about to ask what was wrong when Sakura suddenly burst into movement. Naruto had just started to turn when Sakura shoved him aside, he'd just started to react when he noticed the clicking of a puppet, but not from below.

The sword was already imbedded in the right side of Sakura's chest before Naruto really had any idea what was going on.

"S-Sakura-!"

"N-Naruto-! Get to Gaara! He needs you-aaaugh!" Sakura coughed up blood as Sasori-it had to be Sasori-pulled on the blade.

"Oho, worried about others even wounded like that, what a girl."

Sakura grabbed the blade, the beginnings of healing chakra surging around the wound.

Naruto had seen enough.

A youki empowered fist flew through Sasori's new head, reducing it to powder and blowing the puppeteers body away from his friend. Sakura bit off a small scream and collapsed to her knees, clutching the sword imbedded in her chest.

As carefully as he could, Naruto swept up the girl he cared about more than almost any other and _ran _as hard and fast as he could towards the only other medic he was aware of, "Chiyo-!"

---

Kakashi watched Naruto, wrapped in a halo of bright purple chakra, _run _his teammate to Chiyo-oba-sama and felt dread start to well up within him. His sharingan could pick out the sword embedded in the girl's chest even from here.

It could also pick out the strange fleshy cylinder as it rolled into another puppet not absurdly far from the group.

The masked Jounin's eyes narrowed and he crept forward with as much stealth as he was capable of and picked up a discarded sword.

Even tired from the extended ranged battle against the now dead Deidara, Kakashi was perfectly capable of creeping up behind the slowly moving puppet as it approached its targets.

He heard a panting Chiyo speaking to Naruto, "We-We'll have to get the sword out of her…" the teen was setting a now unconscious Sakura down, not noticing the near silent puppet approaching. But Sasori didn't notice Kakashi either.

The puppet reared its blade back and Naruto spun with a rasengan in hand, but both of them froze when the blade in Kakashi's hand pierced the cylinder Kakashi had seen with a meaty squelch, "You let your guard down… Sasori."

"Kakashi…" The Jounin could see the hesitation in Naruto's eyes and decided to do something about it.

"Naruto, help Chiyo, I've got Sasori now."

The armored blonde looked between the Akatsuki and the kunoichi behind him several times before letting the purple rasengan in his hand fade and moving to Chiyo. The elder kunoichi was slowly removing the sword even as she sealed up the wound around it.

Then Sasori spoke, "It's pointless… the sword is poisoned… and even if it wasn't, I hit a vital spot. She'll be dead soon, there's too much blood loss," Naruto tensed even as he tossed the sword aside, "Since I knew you were a medical ninja, I made sure to hit a spot that's difficult to treat."

Chiyo pressed both hands to Sakura's chest and Kakashi's sharingan picked up a change in the jutsu she was using even as she spoke, "Hm… Naruto… check her left pouch for a syringe of the antidote…" the teen did as instructed and pulled out a slightly cracked vial.

Without hesitation, he popped the cap and injected the antidote into his teammate, the worry clear on his face as he watched the fluid drain into the girl.

Kakashi watched as well over Sasori's shoulder, his sharingan watching the chakra slowly fade from the puppets torso, "Chiyo-oba-sama… are you sure…?"

Though Naruto looked confused as well, it Sasori was that asked, "Sure of what?"

The old woman didn't look up from the girl beneath her, "What I'm doing… is no longer medical ninjutsu…" both Sasori and Naruto looked at the Chiyo in confusion, "I'm giving my own life energy… a Tensei Ninjutsu." Chiyo's eyes flicked up at the red-head impaled by the sword in Kakashi's hands, "Originally, it was for you… I alone spent many years working this out for you…"

All the shinobi looked at the woman in confusion at that even as Sakura's eyes began to open and Chiyo continued, "With this jutsu…I can even give life to a puppet… in exchange for the using up the users life…" a sad smile settled on the woman's face, "But… it's already a dream that can't be realized…"

There was a moment of silence, Naruto opened his mouth, but Sasori interrupted, "Pathetic… when'd you start getting senile, grandma?"

Naruto's cry of "Bastard!" was cut off by a soft coughing from Sakura. The blonde boy was immediately by the pink-haired girl's side, his hands hovering over her, unsure whether he wanted to help her up or keep her lying down, "Sakura-! A-Are you alright?!"

"Y-Yeah…" Kakashi felt a small surge of happiness as his student forced herself into a sitting position, _'I'm not going to lose another teammate today… thank goodness.'_

"Hm… that's odd…" then Kakashi felt the urge to twist the sword in Sasori's chest and end the puppeteer's life _now _rather than let him continue speaking, "I thought that with a Tensei Ninjutsu, wouldn't the user die from giving up their life to a dead person?"

A quick glance confirmed that indeed, Chiyo was still breathing and sitting up, though her breath was coming in slow gasps and her hands were trembling to keep her up, "Sakura received a fatal wound, but didn't die… as such, I also came to this level…"

"Well, that's a pity-"

Naruto's uppercut snapped Sasori's head all the way back and would've snapped the man's neck had he had a spine, as it was, the puppet(eer's) blank stare met Kakashi's glare.

"Shut. **Up**."

"Hmph," Sasori grinned and forced his head to push back to its rightful position, "Give it up… this body feels no pain,if all you do is hit me, your fist is all that will hurt. Even connected by blood as we are, I won't feel a thing if Grandma here dies, my heart… is just like this body. Of all the hundreds I've killed so far… she's just another one of them. It's that simple."

Kakashi heard the tendons creak as Naruto's hand clenched into a tight fist and _growled_, "Don't you feel _anything-?! _She cared for you enough that she was willing to give her life for yours at one point and you would just toss that aside-?!"he bit off the end of his sentence, but Sasori answered him anyway.

"Why would I care…? An undecaying body, a puppet body that can be rebuilt over and over again… unfettered by a mortal lifespan… I can just make as many people as I want out of puppets if I want to," Sasori's head tilted and the puppets arms twitched, "… I don't just add them for the sake of numbers… collections are about quality."

The silence stretched as Naruto just stared at the puppeteer in disbelief, it was Sakura that broke it, "What… what the hell are you…?!"

"If I must say…" was it just Kakashi, or did Sasori suddenly sound wistful, "Maybe… a person who couldn't become a puppet…" Kakashi wasn't imagining it, Sasori sounded _melancholy,_ "I am a puppet, but… an incomplete puppet with the 'core' of my real body… not human, not puppet…"

The retrieval team stared at Sasori as the silence hung in the air, then the Akatsuki member continued, "I won't be able to move for much longer… before that, I'll do something pointless for you… a… reward, for defeating me…"

"You wanted to know about Orochimaru didn't you…?" Kakashi almost couldn't believe what he was hearing, but Naruto nodded with a serious face and the puppeteer continued, "Go to the Tenchi bridge in the Grass village, at noon, eleven days from now," Sasori paused, his head twitching once.

"… why?"

"I have a spy amongst Orochimaru's subordinates," Sasori's voice was getting weaker and more disjointed as he spoke, "I am supposed… to meet him there…"

The chakra was no longer flowing through Sasori's core, Kakashi let the now truly lifeless puppet drop to the ground, "He's dead…"

---

Gnarl watched as Naruto knelt beside Sakura and the prone Gaara. The girl was beat up and dangerously low on energy while the red head was just barely breathing.

Of course, not long _after_ the Ninjalord had defeated the puppet master, Team Gai had gotten back from whatever had been holding them up at the tags. The Bigger-Horrendously-Clothed-Freak had actually _punched _a new way out of the cavern for them and had helped the group get onto the small meadow that was on top of the cave.

"Sakura-chan…"

The pinkette was glaring at the Kazekage's chest, a barely visible green glow of chakra easing out of her hands and into Gaara.

"_Gaara… don't die on us now Gaara…! Not after all that…!"_

"_Sire… he has almost no lifeforce…" _Gnarl watched the situation through the open portal in the Netherworld throne room. He was careful about his wording, the Ninjalord was about to lose one he considered a friend, he was volatile at the moment… and Gnarl could be resurrected, _"He… might not make it Sire…"_

"No."

Naruto probably didn't realize he'd spoke out loud, but Gnarl had a feeling he wouldn't have cared.

"Not after all this… not when we're so close…" the blondes clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles creaked, "We _saved _him…!"

An unfamiliar emotion surged through the magical link, something Gnarl identified as sadness, then another, this time grief as Naruto's eyes scrunched up tight, "Sakura-chan…"

A look Gnarl was accustomed to seeing on the enemies of the Overlord settled onto the face of the pink haired girl. That look of despair and sadness, of complete hopelessness and impotence. It made Gnarl… uncomfortable to see that look on her face, for several reasons really.

First and foremost was that the Ninjalord could very well take it out on him if he said one thing wrong at this point, Naruto would be on a hair-trigger if his friend couldn't be saved, he might not hurt his other friends… but Minions could be resurrected if they were broken. Gnarl was also uncomfortable with that look being on a female's face that was so close to the Overlord, it was reflex, when the mistress(es) were unhappy or sad, the Minions often suffered.

That, and Gnarl was Minion enough to admit, the boy was rubbing off on him. He was just outright uncomfortable with that look being on an ally's face.

Then the green healing energy stopped glowing around her hands. And Gaara wasn't breathing any easier.

'_This… probably won't be good news…'_

The girl opened her mouth and hope flared inside the Ninjalord, weak but still discernable over their link, only to have it crushed when the medic closed her mouth and shook her head. Gnarl wasn't accustomed to feeling these emotions, not even through his Overlord. The Overlords were often harsh, hateful, or at very least extremely cold and dispassionate, not warm and caring. Something the Ninjalord was despite Gnarls best attempts to quash it.

"No…" Naruto scrunched up his eyes, tears beginning to fall, another thing Gnarl couldn't really understand, the Ninjalord's emotions and thoughts were jumbled and incoherent, and probably would've been even if he'd been sending them to Gnarl intentionally instead of them leaking out on accident.

"He… he didn't just become Kazekage… he… to die like this…! It isn't right!"

"Relax… Uzumaki Naruto…" Gnarl winced when the old bat spoke, knowing it was the wrong thing to say.

Especially for her.

"**Shut up!**" There was a surge of the Nine-tails power, but it was contained, "None of this would've happened if you people hadn't stuffed a monster into him! Did _any _of you ask how he felt?! What it's like to be hated because of something someone _else _did?!"

The armored boy stomped right up to the old woman and pointed a finger in her face, "Despite all of that-! In spite of the hatred, he became the Kazekage! He defended _his _village! He took it under his wing regardless of all that! And what have you all done for him?! Hated him?! Hurt him?! Tried to kill him?! Just because of what he is!"

Naruto gnashed his teeth and _glared _at the old hag, "_You _didn't even come on this mission for him! You just came to fight your stupid Grandson! You've done _nothing _for Gaara!"

There was a brief moment where Gnarl was worried the Ninjalord would punch the old bat even as tears streamed down his face, but the blonde seemed to collapse in on himself, his hands coming up to try and stem the flow of tears down his face.

The pink-haired girl started to reach out to him, probably in some attempt at _kindness, _(Gnarl shuddered) but her hand dropped and instead she just said the Ninjalord's name quietly, "… Naruto…"

"I… intend to rectify that… now…"

Gnarl wasn't the only one that was surprised as the old hag knelt beside the prone red-head. Her hands pressed against the red-head's chest and the green healing energy _burst _into existence with an audible hum that resonated even through his Master's magical link so strongly that _Gnarl _felt his beetle eaten bones rattle some.

All of those that had been in the cavern recognized the technique, surprise was on both Naruto and Kakashi's faces, but Gnarl noticed the sad look on the pink-haired girl's face, _'Ah, so it seems she cares for the old bat, pity… and she had so much potential as a Mistress…'_

There was silence as the old hag did her work, pouring her life into the near-dead Gaara, but after minute, the green energy around her hands faded and shrunk. Instantly, the hope that had been filling the Ninjalord turned into fear, "What's wrong?"

"I… don't have enough chakra…" the old hag's already croaky voice was shaky and weak.

"Then use mine! Chakra's something I have in spades!" before Gnarl could caution him, the blonde had placed his hands over the old woman's, "Please…!" Gnarl could see the brief hesitation in the woman's face before she nodded, pushing on with the jutsu and drawing on the nigh infinite source of power that was the Ninjalord.

The green healing energy flared back into life, stronger than before and all those gathered gave the Ninjalord a look Gnarl had only seen on people magically dominated before this. Awed, caring, reverent, appreciative.

'_There… just might be something to this 'being loved _and _feared' thing he's got going…'_

Then the old bat smiled at Naruto, "I'm glad that someone like you appeared… in this world of shinobi that we old people created," the Ninjalord's eyes snapped up to her, "… in the past, everything I did was mistaken… but it seems, that at the end, I'm able to do the right thing…"

"Suna…" her eyes lifted to Naruto, "And Konoha…their futures aren't going to repeat our past…"

"What Kakshi said, your mysterious power… it could change the destiny of the world…" there was a bit of wistfulness to her tone before it became a cross between a command and a plea, "Become a Hokage unlike any other before…"

Both Naruto and Gnarl smiled at this, though the Minion's was much more sinister, _'Oh yes, he'll definitely be unlike any before him. I'll make sure of it.'_

The old bat wasn't done, apparently feeling that stupid need heroes often did to have last words before they passed away instead of a proper exclamation, _'Psh, heroes…'_

"Naruto… a request from an old hag… you're the only one that can really understand Gaara… help him…"

'_Oh great, now the pink-haired one is crying too! Oh boo-hoo! The old, wrinkled bitch is dying! Waah! Bah!'_

---

Naruto couldn't keep the grin off his face as Gaara gaped at the gathered Suna shinobi. Even as one Jinchuuriki supported the other, the blonde couldn't help himself, "I think they kinda missed you."

Wide, black-rimmed eyes snapped back to Naruto, and the blonde grinned even wider, elated beyond belief, "You put us through a lot y'know."

"For sure," Kankurou, looking weird with his facepaint on but his hat off, approached the two of them, "You're a little brother I always have to worry about neh?"

Temari was only a step behind him and playfully socked the Puppeteer in the arm for his insolence, "Hey, don't go getting all complacent! Gaara's still the Kazekage, so don't be cheeky!" Then she just _had _to add a stinger for the younger Jounin and Gennin, "You underlings!"

Naruto and Kankurou gave her a look even as the fan user knelt in close to her baby brother, "… Gaara, how are you feeling?"

A thoughtful look passed over the red-heads face before he tried to push himself to his feet, though Naruto didn't really let him. The blonde put his hand on his friend's back even as he tugged the Kazekage's arm over his shoulder, "Easy man, you just dodged death," Naruto grinned cheekily at his surprised friend, "You might be almost as awesome as me, but there's no way you're totally healed yet."

Naruto stood, his left arm wrapped around the Kazekage's waist while his right hand kept Gaara's arm slung over his shoulders. He carefully supported his friend, making sure to keep the edges of his slightly oversized and mostly rectangular shoulder-guards from digging into the red-head's side.

For a moment, Gaara just stared at him, probably surprised _anyone _would do this and unused to so much contact, but the barest quirking of his lips upward told Naruto that the young man accepted it, almost as much as letting himself lean into Naruto's side and be supported did.

A particularly loud sob caught Naruto's attention, and his blue eyes slid from the still-boyish face of the Kazekage to what appeared to be a Suna Gennin as the boy sobbed, "This is great… I actually wondered if Kazekage-sama would really die…"

Apparently kunoichi weren't that different in Suna as the Chuunin, maybe Jounin beside the boy smacked him upside the head, "No way Gaara-sama would die that easily!!!" even as the boy winced the girls beside him swooned and Naruto couldn't help but feel a bit jealous, "Gaara-sama's a real strong and silent type, and good-looking, and elite…!"

The other, lighter haired girl beside _her _continued, "Yeah yeah! But there's still some cuteness about him even as the Kazekage…!"

The following squeals were something Naruto had only heard occasionally during his time with Jiraiya-san, the sounds of the dreaded fangirls.

"Next time I'll be the one to get Gaara-sama out of whatever mess he's in for sure!!"

"No! It'll be me!"

Naruto let go of Gaara's right hand and caught one of the kunoichi's face in his palm, a foot coming up to plant itself in the others chest, gently of course (they _were _allies and cute girls to boot) but his arm and leg were enough to stop the fangirls charge and keep a certain amount of space around the red-head pressed against his side, "Easy girls! Easy! You can shower him with love when he gets to the hospital!" _'And I can take the time to screen you properly to be sure you're not going to stick a kunai in his eye.'_

Thankfully, though both the girls went 'Awww…!' at that, they relented and Naruto let go of the one's face. It'd been comical more than anything else, but Naruto still felt exceedingly protective of the friend he'd almost lost, though the pouts on their faces definitely made him want to explain some more to try and get it off, "We might've saved him, but Gaara still needs his rest."

One of the girls looked at Naruto funny, and the blonde couldn't interpret the look at first, "_You_ saved Gaara-sama?"

His first impulse was to brag, but bragging didn't endear you to the masses, nor was it the truth, "No… I just helped… I did a lot, yes, but I just helped," Naruto's eyes slid over the Chiyo, "Obaa-chan was the one who _really _saved him…"

A sad look passed across Naruto's face for a moment as the gazes of the gathered shinobi of Suna turned to the prone form of the elder kunoichi as she rested in Sakura's arms, "Obaa-chan… quite literally, gave her life for Gaara's… I just made sure her body didn't fail itself halfway through it… she's the _real_ hero…"

For a moment, there was silence, then as one, the gathering of shinobi bowed their heads in respect.

"_Gnarl…?"_

The Minion hesitated for a moment before answering, _"Yes Sire…?"_

"_**That **__is why I want to be loved… __**that **__is why I insist on holding back against allies and friends… that love, that respect… the same respect that Chiyo-obaa-chan gave Gaara, the same love. I want it, and I shall earn it."_

"_I… just might understand what you're getting at Sire…" _the ancient Minion sounded, surprised that he was telling the truth, though Naruto wasn't. It'd taken the gray-bastard long enough to understand.

Chiyo's equally aged brother stood over her, "'I'm just playing dead'… I keep expecting her to laugh out loud and say that… mm… such a peaceful expression she has now…"

Sakura gave the fallen kunoichi an affectionate squeeze as tears dripped down her face, "… yeah…"

Naruto's sad gaze was interrupted by Temari's voice, "Naruto… you really are an amazing person… you have the power to change people… Chiyo-sama was always saying she didn't care about the future of the village… she wasn't the kind to do something like this for Gaara…"

Then Kakashi, still tired and beaten up, spoke softly, "… Chiyo-sama entrusted the future to Gaara and you… a truly fitting last moment for a shinobi."

"Yeah… it really was…" Naruto smiled, though he didn't really feel it. He hadn't wanted the old lady to die, she'd just started to give him and Sakura some honest respect, but he'd rather the old ally's death be something useful and protect his friends rather than a useless passing away in her bed.

Gaara's hand tightened on the black cloth padding in the gap between Naruto's shoulder armor and the straps of his cuirass.

Understanding, Naruto helped his friend to walk over to Chiyo's fallen form. Once there, the red-head pushed himself off of Naruto's side to stand on his own with a certain degree of effort, though Naruto didn't take his hand from the small of the Kazekage's back.

Then, the quiet young man spoke with the same tone of command that Naruto himself could use, "Everyone… say a prayer for Chiyo."

There wasn't a shinobi there that disobeyed, heads bowing and eyes closing for a moment of prayer.

But Naruto's thoughts didn't slow.

'_I almost lost Gaara… I can't let that happen again, never again, not too any of my friends. I've also got to have a sit-down meeting with Gaara over a number of things…' _A brief scowl crossed his face before he wiped it away, _'I've _got _to prepare my friends… I have to. Assessing what they can do is a priority now. I'd also better get Giblet to start making some armored clothing as well…'_

'_This… I never want to fell like I've lost a friend ever again… and I'll do everything in my power to stop it.'_

* * *

**A.N.-) **Right! There were a couple things I'd like to address, one of which was this new chapter. I made it a new chapter because I REALLY didn't feel like making a 30k word chapter. That's just overkill for me. Probably will never happen.

Reasons for Deidara's death: the guy couldn't beat Sasuke while he had preparation, there's no way I think he could beat Kakashi when low on clay and with limited maneuverability as well as a limit on how he can use his bombs (Doesn't want to hit Sasori, that guy'd kill him!). If Chiyo hadn't screwed with him, Deidara might've _escaped _with his life, but she did and created more than enough of an opening for a Kakashi Deidara thought was dead to Rakiri him to the chest.  
Now, I love Deidara, dude's absolutely psycho but intelligent and would've completely whooped Sas(deus ex machine)uke's ass if he hadn't used Manda to haul butt. Yes, beating up on Sasuke automatically makes me like the character, I'm a little prejudiced like that (Though until Sasuke used Manda to 'port out, he wasn't really doing _that _bad)

Oh yeah! Someone made a comment but didn't have an account to respond to, so I'll respond here, dakii:

**On Pein**, I know he's got reasons to be strong, I'm admitting he's as strong as he is even. He'd kick Naruto's ass, I'm not questioning it. I don't know why you felt compelled to point that out.  
**On Zetsu**, I know he can split into two, I know he's capable of rapid movement through objects (not just the ground) but I've never seen anything of Zetsu's that amounts to chakra draining, if you could reference that I'll see about it and come up with a combat scenario for Overlord!Naruto vs him.  
**On Hidan**, no, I wasn't forgetting his ritual. That ritual requires some of Naruto's blood. You can't get blood from shadow clones. The only things that would be engaging Hidan would be Minions and shadow clones while Naruto himself hid underground or some-such. Hidan never gets a chance to get Naruto's blood, and never gets to really perform his ritual. Also, even though his head was talking, it can't do a whole lot when it's just a head, that's what the itty-bitty-pieces comment was about. Once he's in bits, there isn't a whole lot he can do, complete immortality or not.  
**On Sasori**, no, the sand wouldn't be beat by clones or Minions, but I'm betting a Rasengan would blow a large attack of it away, and Naruto has the ability to move underground. Once the real Naruto is underground, there's little chance Sasori would be able to hit him with it. Yes, Sasori can cover the ground in iron sand, but Naruto _does _have doton that could make an opening. If Naruto can get either himself, clones of himself, or even minions near the Sandaime Kazekage puppet, they can destroy the thing, and greens are completely immune to poison.  
Yes, we just saw the fight here, but this is assuming ONLY Naruto versus Sasori, not Naruto + Sakura + Chiyo vs. Sasori, which is the fight up there.

**On the Frog/Toad Summons: **Naruto, while he has them, doesn't really use them. He reflexively goes for the Minions and doesn't even consider the toads, because in most situations, a Minion is more cost-effective than a Toad (The chakra required to summon a single Minion is about equal to that to summon a frog twice Gamakichi's size) and Minions are _usually _more effective in most situations. Ten Minions is usually more effective than one big toad, always? No, definitely not, but usually. And there's enough of a difference that Naruto (under Gnarl's urgings) considers Minions superior to toads in almost all circumstances. Since Naruto has no real experience with mid-sized toads (the only ones that are conceivably more useful than Minions), having only summoning Gamabunta and little toads, it never crosses Naruto's mind to use toads.  
He still has the _ability _to summon them, but not the inclination. Someone would have to actually remind him that he can do it before he'd summon a toad.

**On Naruto's 'regeneration'**, even if regeneration is a fandom concept, his fast healing is not. The Kyuubi's power accelerates Naruto's healing in general, as evidenced by his wounds healing almost instantly when he applies Hinata's ointment to his scratches from Kiba. In this, he has outright regeneration, as in: 'if his arm is cut off at the shoulder, his arm will be fully regrown within a month' due to the greater amounts of Kyuubi's power being safely inserted into his system through the modified seal. He is also effectively never sick as well as immune to poisons.

---

Anyways, a chapter fixed! DECEPTICONS!!! DO WHATEVER IT IS YOU DO!!!

Ja ne,

Andoriol


	6. What is Konoha to You?

**A.N-). **Holy fucking shit, this took me way too long to get up. I'm sorry about the relative shortness of the chapter, but I wanted to get something up to tell people it wasn't dead. I'm not entirely happy with the chapter and I'm struggling to get from point A to point B, but I'm working.

Seriously, sorry about the delay, college started back up and I got shoe-horned into vice-president of a club on campus since the person that _was _in the position had to leave. That and finals… and organizing a pair of events… so, I've been a bit busy. Now though, I'm getting back into mah writing and while I want to might go back and tweak up some of the parts before now that I've seen how much they suck, the basic premise is going to stay the same and there won't be any changes to the plot points.

Oh yeah, and sorry about the serious delay on this chapter people, as much love as I've been getting for this story, I should've worked harder on this, I just had some serious issues with writing from point A to point B in here, I know where I'm going, just not entirely how I'm going to get there…

Alright people, this is where we start to branch from canon. The changes in Naruto are going to start to have an effect. They didn't _really _have one before because the 'Save Gaara' thing was dropped right in his lap. Yeah I could've gone a bit more different at the end there, but I decided against it for various reasons.

Anyways, on with the fic!

**Chapter 5 – What is Leaf to You**

"The Hokage needs to be informed about the potential spy in Oto."

Kakashi nodded, "Agreed, but we can't risk the message being intercepted," the other leaders in the room, Gaara, Gai, and Naruto, nodded, "I'm uneasy with using a hawk even with an encrypted message to tell the Hokage that."

"Definitely," Naruto crossed his arms over his chest, "But we have to tell her _something _in the mission report…"

"Mmn, yes, we must save the details of our youthful mission for when we are in the Gondaime's mighty presence, yet we must warn her of what has transpired here these past days," Everyone in the room who didn't know Gai very well was thrown a little off by the unusual language combined with a serious tone.

Kakashi though, was used to his Eternal Rival's peculiarities, "Mm, we should probably just tell her we have important information and need to meet personally as soon as possible."

Naruto smiled a bit at that, "Vague as hell, and even if it's intercepted they won't know what _we_ know, I like it."

Gai nodded, the spandex-clad Jounin's voice subdued, "It certainly seems like a reasonable solution to our most unyouthful dilemma," then he grinned and struck a bit of a pose, his teeth gleaming as he smiled at Kakashi, "As expected of my most hip and cool Eternal Rival!"

Said Eternal Rival had to suppress his now reflexive reaction to being called that, instead sweeping his eye over the collected ninja, "Mm, who'll write the message to be sent then?"

It was Naruto that answered after a moment, "Actually, I think Gai should do it…" the blonde ignored the surprise on the faces of Team Gai as well as Sakura and Temari; instead, he explained his reasoning to the curious looks he was getting from Kakashi, Gaara, and Gai himself, "Super-Fuzzy-Brows likes to make big speeches that don't really say a whole lot right? Well, a bunch of fluff can only help an encrypted message, and Super-Fuzzy-Brows still knows the least about the mission, he seems like the best choice to me."

Gai grinned at the blonde, "YOSH!" the collected shinobi (with the exception of Rock Lee) winced at the sudden volume, but thankfully the Jounin toned it back down, "Such youthful confidence in a sensei is a wonderful thing Naruto-kun! And such beautiful logic to accompany such confidence! I shall not disappoint you! If the message is decoded, I shall write ten thousand letters of apology! And if I can not do that, I shall cart all the letters back and forth between Suna and Konoha for a week! On my hands!!"

"Yosh! Gai-sensei!"

"Lee-kun!"

"Gai-sensei!!"

"Lee-kun!!"

"Gai-sensei-!!"

"Kinda has to get to work, neh Gai-san?" Naruto interrupted the 'touching' scene with a sheepish smile, completely agreeing with Gnarl's gagging for once but unwilling to show it. Affection was nice and all, but two guys in spandex hugging each other with tears streaming down their faces with a _sunset_ in the background (how the hell'd they manage that?!) was kinda freaky.

Instantly, the Jounin was on his feet, eyes completely dry (somehow), "Yosh! You are right Naruto-kun! I shall have the mission report done immediately!" The man struck a pose, teeth gleaming. And once the gleam finished its journey across his stretch of teeth, Gai just _disappeared_, the door closing gently behind him.

The door that opened inwards. The same door that Temari had been leaning on.

It was shit like that that reminded Naruto that despite his crazy antics, horrible fashion sense, and massive eyebrows, Gai had _earned_ his Jounin rank.

That didn't mean he could shake his head at the guy's weirder moments, "Anyways, once Super-Fuzzy-Brows finishes that up and gets it sent, what's the plan?"

Kakashi's eye closed in contemplation and he slumped more into his chair. He wasn't incapable of moving or anything, but he was brushing up against the edges of chakra-exhaustion. He'd overused his sharingan much like he had with Zabuza two years ago, only this time he'd also slapped on a generous helping of intensive combat ninjutsu. Yes, his stamina had increased several times over, but he'd still drained himself considerably.

Sakura spoke up from her bed, "We have to get back to Konoha soon, including today, we've only got ten days until we have to be at the bridge."

There were general nods from all of the Konoha nin, though Naruto scowled slightly, "Problem, Kakashi's going to have trouble traveling, let alone fighting for like, a week-?" a quick glance at the Jounin got a confirming nod and Naruto continued, "And you're not much better, your chakra is pretty much gone and your hip's got a serious hairline fracture. Traveling would be hard on Kakashi, but it could cause damage to your hip."

"Mm, well… if time really _is_ an issue," Kakashi pushed himself back up in his chair to avoid slipping out, "Gai-kun could help me along, we've done it before when I overused my sharingan."

"True…" Naruto acknowledged the point, before something dawned on him and a grin began to spread across his face, "And if Super-Fuzzy-Brows is practically carrying you, I can _actually_ carry Sakura-chan!"

Sakura scowled at Naruto, "I don't need to be carried."

"If you want to get to Konoha in a week you do," the girl's scowl darkened and Naruto hurried to explain, "I mean, you won't be travel ready for a couple days and all! Yeah, your chakra will come back quicker than Kakashi's, but you won't be able to heal that thing for a couple days at least. If I don't carry you, you either hurt yourself trying to travel or stay here long enough to heal yourself and then come after us… and probably not get to Konoha in time…"

She didn't like it, but she couldn't find a problem with his logic, still, Sakura scowled at her bed, muttering softly to herself, "I just don't want to be pampered and useless…"

Several people in the room caught that, but Naruto decided to address the safer half, "You're _not _being pampered, Kakashi's in a similar position and he's being carried by Gai-"

"I'm not being carried, I'm being helped along."

"-and if anyone was going to carry a wounded member of the group, it'd be me since my combat style's the least bothered by hanging back with my hands tied. You're wounded and tired, but we should still be getting to Konoha as soon as possible, to do that without leaving you behind, someone's got to carry you," Naruto's grin came back, though more apologetic this time, "Might as well be me."

The pink-haired girl shifted uncomfortably at that, opened her mouth to try and say something, then closed it again and looked away.

An uneasy silence settled over the group for a moment, Lee, Tenten, and Naruto shuffling their feet, while the others were visibly unaffected. Lee was about to use Gai-sensei's patented 'Yell-stupid-things-about-YOUTH-real-loud' method to break the tension when Naruto spoke up again, "Alright… considering we have to get to Konoha soon and that we have a viable way of getting Kakashi and Sakura-chan there safely, I'm voting that we leave today."

"Mm," Kakashi's eye closed for a moment before nodding, "Agreed, time _is_ an issue. Sakura?"

She scowled a bit before nodding, "I don't really want to be carried, but yeah-"

"Yosh! I agree with Sakura-chan and Naruto-kun! The Hokage must be informed of this immediately and only our raging fires of youth are capable of delivering it!" Lee's interruption wasn't exactly welcome, nor was the dramatic posing that accompanied it. Though his teammates were used to it by now and Gaara didn't have any _visible _reaction.

Tenten smacked Lee upside the head, quite gently considering the damage the taijutsu specialist was accustomed to, "Lee, tone down the volume, we're in a hospital!"

Ignoring his teammates, Neji spoke to Kakashi, "I concur, time is of the essence in this situation, leaving today would be prudent if neither Haruno-san nor yourself are bothered by being effectively carried to Konoha."

Lee opened his mouth to speak-

"Lee…!" and Tenten's growl turned his encouraging and joyous shout into a slightly loud voice, and the threatening flex of his teammate's fingers turned his dramatic pose into a simple thumbs up.

"Neji-kun-! It is joyous that you too share Naruto-kun's and Sakura-chan's youthful vigor!" Said members of team seven simultaneously face-palmed, _'There _is _such a thing as taking hero-worship too far Lee…'_

Sakura coughed delicately, "Well, if we _are _leaving today… I… I would like to visit Chiyo-oba-sama's grave before we go…"

For the first time in a while, Gaara spoke, "That… won't be hard to arrange…"

Naruto stood beside his pink-haired friend as she stared at Chiyo's grave, his face a mask of suppressed grief.

Only… Naruto didn't really want to be here. Chiyo had been a good ally… but not a friend. Oh, he was saddened by her passing and all, and he certainly appreciated that she'd given her life for his friends… but he hadn't really known the lady, nor had she tried to know him.

She'd been a great ninja, and Naruto was happy to have had her on his side even if for a short time.

But ninja died, it was that simple.

While seeing Minions throw themselves gleefully into a vat of boiling metal just to imbue your equipment with power tended to desensitize you to sacrifice… it didn't make standing in front of the person's grave any easier or comfortable.

Minions didn't have graves… their bodies normally faded back into the Netherworld if they died elsewhere and their bodies were normally used as feed for the beetles. The closest Naruto came to standing over a grave was his sword and armor, imbuned with the life and souls of Minions, even then the equipment was more an extension of Naruto than anything else.

But now he was standing in front of the stone that represented Chiyo, and just in front of the plot of dirt that had her ashes buried in it. It actually kinda creeped Naruto out to be honest… and if Sakura hadn't needed help moving around, Naruto probably would've stayed back with the rest of the retrieval team and the Sand siblings.

But she _did_ need help moving around, at least to avoid hurting herself more as she did. And there was no way Naruto could deny a friend in need, not after failing once… and almost failing twice again.

Hell, he'd almost lost _Gaara_, (the freakin' Kazekage!) probably the only person that could really understand him, and it was only through the sacrifice of an ally that the red-head hadn't been lost before Naruto's eyes. He wasn't sure how he would've handled that… he liked to think he would've gotten over it, merely placing revenge against the Akatsuki higher on his list of priorities…

But he didn't _know_ that he wouldn't have become almost as obsessed with revenge as Sasuke was.

That terrified Naruto. That he might become so focused on revenge that everything else he held dear would fall to the wayside.

His friends safety came first, above all else. The armored blonde glanced over at his teammate, the _other_ friend he'd almost lost.

Getting impaled with a poisoned sword to the lung just might be as bad as getting a Chidori to the chest… and she didn't have the Kyuubi. A shudder ran through Naruto at the thought of losing the girl currently beside him. He'd already lost one teammate, he didn't plan on losing another.

'_Speaking of lost teammates…'_ Naruto scowled. If Sasori had been telling the truth, that meant that they now had an in into Orochimaru's organization (Naruto refused to call it a village), something neither Jiraiya-san nor Naruto himself had been able to get… as long as Sasori was telling the truth. Bastard _could've _been lying just to get back at them for killing him after his death. Naruto didn't think so, but it was a definite risk.

One Naruto was willing to take himself.

Getting Sasuke back was a priority, not an absurdly high one, but definitely up there. The teen was one of Naruto's first friends, a genius, the holder of a powerful bloodline, and Naruto had made a promise to bring him back. There were reasons all over the place to try and get the guy on his side!

And somehow Naruto doubted that anyone outside of his team would really _try_ to bring him back, or that anyone else had a chance of bringing him back.

As such, Naruto was officially calling dibs on any mission that stood a chance of infiltrating Orochimaru's organization.

Naruto tilted his head back and closed his eyes, basking in the sun as he stood beside Sakura.

'_Mm… the sun's really warm here… at least it seems that way… maybe it's just the desert…'_

Suna… had surprised him. Despite the harsh climate, lack of obvious resources, and early treatment of Gaara, the place was pretty nice.

Honestly, he'd been surprised how much the Suna Shinobi had accepted him and how… grateful they'd been that he'd saved Gaara. Apparently his red-headed friend was quite loved amongst the younger generation, _Naruto _actually had to dodge the occasional fangirl!

He had a feeling it was because of a particular response he'd had to the question 'You really saved Gaara-sama?' Naruto had said something like 'Well duh I saved him, he's like, one of my best friends. I'd go to the ends of the earth to protect him if I had to.'

Apparently this had made them (the adolescent female ones at least) think that Naruto was some sort of Samurai hero in shining armor like from the movies and stuff.

The fact that he _did_ wear armor and carried a sword didn't help, though the girls seemed to ignore the fact that both the padded clothing beneath the armor itself and Maelstrom were black as pitch.

Meh, as nice as the affection was, it was shallow and based on an illusion. Naruto had encountered similar situations after saving villages and such, though the girls there usually weren't as fit or exotic as Suna kunoichi…

Naruto pushed the thought away, appreciating the sights around Suna could come _after _he'd dealt with this spy and solidified his power base in Konoha.

Blue eyes snapped open again, the pressure wasn't on yet, but the sooner he got started, the better.

The golden spiral at the center of the plate on the back of his left hand glinted in the light of the sun as his hand came up to gently rest on Sakura's shoulder. Neither shinobi moved for a moment, Sakura leaning ever so slightly into the comforting touch, it was only after a moment's silence that Naruto spoke, "… we should go… Sakura-chan…"

"… yeah…" Naruto gave her shoulder what he hoped was a reassuring squeeze before letting go and walking back over to the group of gathered Konoha nin and Kazekage family.

After a moment, his teammate followed.

As it should be.

The Konoha shinobi and Kazekage family stood at the main entrance to Suna, and for a brief moment, Naruto had to marvel at how effectively the city was actually defended.

In the middle of a dessert, surrounded by high walls that were resistant to the standard chakra climbing techniques, its own sizable reservoir of water, and only one good entrance, much of which was actually C or B-class secrets that Naruto had learned from Gaara or his attempts at infiltration.

This place was built for a siege even more so than Konoha, more than anywhere except maybe the Netherworld, which was essentially all home-turf advantage for the Minions since the loose laws of physics only favored the Minions and Naruto himself. Naruto would have to see if he could get the Netherworld Spire connected to the bottom of the Hokage-tower, that would be a nice trick and would greatly reinforce Konoha's defenses to have a nigh infinite supply of Minions at their beck and call…

But that was for later, right now, he had to say goodbye to his friend.

Naruto grinned at Gaara and wished he'd gotten to see the red-head in his Kazekage robes, just to say he had, but the blonde still extended his left hand to the former Jinchuuriki, a smile he knew was both sad but _real_ on his face.

Gaara didn't even blink, _'Stoic bastard…' _Naruto thought affectionately as the Kazekage took his hand. Somehow, despite having just stopped being the embodiment of the sand, despite the black clothes, despite the _dessert_, Gaara's hands were cool.

When Naruto had first discovered this, he'd gotten Sakura to check the boy over again, but it'd taken assurances from both Kankurou _and _Temari that this was normal for Gaara to calm Naruto down.

It seemed Gaara was just awesome enough to defy the very dessert he drew his greatest strength from.

"Hope to see you again soon… Gaara."

The red-head nodded, his lips quirking upwards just a hint, but his eyelids dropped a fraction. It was an unspoken question from the Kazekage to the future Hokage.

Naruto inclined his head in response, _then _let his grin widen enough to close his eyes as he gave the Kazekage his answer.

'_Yes.'_

While the youki flowing into and through his chakra coils certainly made Naruto far more resistant to differences in temperature it was still freakin' hot. Having Sakura on his back didn't help.

Well, it _was_ kinda nice… but she was warm on top of everything else. Dark clothing and heavy metal armor weren't good ways to stay cool and carrying a warm young woman on your back definitely wasn't the best idea. So, once he'd realized this, he'd decided to fix it. Now, in a very tight, sleeveless, black shirt with the legs of his black pants rolled up, he was a _lot _more comfortable.

He'd stuffed his armor and Maelstrom into the storage seal strapped to his lower back. And even though his pants were the same just rolled up, he'd swapped out his closed off shoes for black open-toed sandals like most shinobi wore, and his shirt breathed just like the Suna Cotton it was.

He _would've _had Maelstrom out just in case, even if they were in friendly territory on a peaceful trip at this point but it would've made it hard to carry Sakura. As it was, a quick adjustment to the knot and rope of his sealing scroll turned it into an improvised chair for the girl to sit on.

Said girl was currently fast asleep and leaning against Naruto's back.

This affirmed Naruto's previous suspicions about his teammate's state.

The medic had _poured _a considerable portion of her chakra into trying to stabilize Gaara, and from what the girl had said, even though she could do some pretty crazy things with medical ninjutsu, forcing someone's heart, lungs, and nervous system to _work_ while also keeping the rest of their body's functions from spiraling out of control wasn't easy in the first place. _And_ Sakura had been forced to use what she called the 'Brute Force' method, which she'd described as expending pulses of chakra into the patients body.

Naruto didn't completely understand how it worked, but it apparently took a lot of chakra to do it the 'normal' way, and the brute force method took even more. And the blonde was aware that not everyone had his absurd amounts of chakra.

Now, the pinkette was little better than Kakashi with chakra exhaustion, though since she was younger her reserves would fill more rapidly.

Thankfully, she was also a whole lot cuter than the Jounin, at least to Naruto.

Said Jounin was being carried by an even less… cuter… Jounin… _'Less cuter? What kind of description is that? Especially for Gai?! By the Netherworld, what's wrong with me?!'_

Kakashi was being helped along by the ever energetic Mighto Gai, the masked man's arm slung over the spandex-clad man's shoulders and being effectively dragged along. The look of frustration on Gai's face was outright comical, made even more so by Kakashi's next statement.

"Ehh… sorry Gai-kun. Because I used that Sharingan so much, my body won't really move…"

The taijutsu master contemplated this for about half a second before bellowing, "RIGHT!!!"

In a flurry of movement, Might Gai swung his pack around to his front, and pulled Kakashi onto his back, piggy-backing the masked Jounin.

Naruto couldn't keep his mouth shut, "That's… kinda creepy…"

Then Gai, somehow, one upped himself, "This way will be faster!!" his teeth gleamed as he swung around and grinned at the younger ninja. The older man suddenly laughed and pretty much exploded down the dessert, Kakashi in tow, "Ahahahaha!! Think any of you can keep up with me?!"

"… _Gnarl… is there any way to unsee what I just saw…?"_

"_I-I'm afraid not Sire…"_

"Neji…?" Naruto looked over to find Lee trying to imitate his beloved sensei once again.

Thankfully, Neji wasn't going with it, "Absolutely not!"

Naruto shook his head, a small smile on his face until the girl on his back groaned. While Naruto busied about making sure the girl stayed pleasantly asleep, a combined effort from both Neji and Tenten kept Lee quiet as the group did their best to catch up with their senseis.

Sakura yawned again as she leaned against her tree, barely awake at the moment after the meal. She was feeling much better than she had in Suna, and as much as she hated feeling useless, being able to just sleep and be carried from one place to another was… nice.

The scroll thing was a nice idea and was surprisingly comfortable for her, even with her hip sore as all get out.

That was really bothering her though, she couldn't heal herself just yet, maybe miday tomorrow at the earliest. She _had _chakra, but if she used some now, she'd only seriously prolong her recovery time. It'd help build her storage capacity, but she was more worried about getting back into combat shape as soon as possible at this point, something that required her to _wait _for a bit… or get carried to the bridge the same way she was getting carried home.

_Not _something she wanted to do.

Ergo, Sakura was waiting as patiently as she could for her chakra reserves to fill to the point she could heal herself without putting herself into a pseudo-coma.

She still felt tired and sore though, and the rest Naruto was able to give her was appreciated.

Thankfully, they'd been able to camp at the edge of the desert and the tree's were able to keep the warm air closer to the ground or something, Sakura couldn't pull up the exact data off the top of her head while tired, full, and happily sitting in front of a warm fire.

They were getting closer to Konoha, they'd be there probably by either tomorrow or early morning the day after and Sakura knew that she'd have enough spare energy packed away in her cells to safely heal her hip by the sunset tomorrow.

If they still needed to travel after that then she'd let Naruto carry her, she needed the rest and it wasn't like he was uncomfortable or anything. Sakura cracked open her green eyes and glanced over at the blonde, finding him to still be meditating by the fire. She'd never really taken Naruto for the meditating type, then again, she hadn't thought he'd wear armor and carry a sword either… Jiraiya-san probably taught him to meditate and it'd help everything else fall into place.

Maybe… maybe _that's_ what that weird chakra was-! He meditated till he could draw on hidden reserves of power or something-!

No… wait… that wasn't likely… Even in her fuzzy-minded state Sakura knew that wasn't it. The real answer was on the tip of her tongue, figuratively speaking, but she just couldn't grasp it.

Now wasn't the time to ask him though. Not with everyone still jumping around and doing stuff, she had a feeling that it was a personal thing, or at the very least, an operational secret she might not have the clearance for. She didn't want to embarrass him by dragging it out of him in front of Team Gai, the teams weren't _that _close.

"_Gnarl, how is the equipment coming?"_

Naruto sat beside the fire in a meditative position as he waited for the rest of the camp to go to sleep. With any luck, Sakura would fall asleep before everyone else did. He had a sneaking suspicion that she was waiting for a chance to talk to him about the mission. Something he'd care to avoid at the moment.

As much as he'd _like_ to interpret her (not-so) subtle glances as romantic interest or at least lustful curiosity, Naruto wasn't going to fool himself. He'd asked her out every single day for quite a while and she'd continued to say no. The odds of her liking him by this point were slim. Oh, he might tease her and everything, but that was more… how'd Jiraiya-san put it? Art appreciation than anything else.

"_Well Sire, Giblet did his best to guess their sizes, so much of the things are not exact…"_

"_It's alright, as long as I can get them stuff better than what they've got…" _the Ninjalord had decided to go with orange and black outfits with Minion-imbued chainmail inside the padding, it would be protective _and _stylish!

"_Sire… are you sure they're going to accept these…?"_

He scowled at the sky, _"Of course they will Gnarl! They're ninja! If I show them how awesome these things are they'll be all over them!"_

The aged Minion paused, _"But Sire… these are black and orange… none of your friends wear those colors…"_

This time, Naruto snorted, _"They'll get over it! It's perfectly stealthy in almost any environment."_

The Minion Master didn't respond to that and let the Ninjalord settle into his own delusions. If he was having the defensive clothing made with the colors his friends had already chosen in mind, they'd be considerably more likely to accept it, but with it all black and orange, they'd probably turn him down on the principle.

The boy was charismatic, but not _that _charismatic.

The instant the retrieval team passed through the Konoha gates, Gai and Sakura had taken Kakashi to the hospital, Team Gai had dispersed to clean up before the debriefing, knowing that Gai would inform them (loudly) of the time. Naruto had split himself in two.

The clone headed to the Hokage tower to inform Tsunade of their arrival personally and to meet them at the hospital, they had things to discuss. The original was going to swing by his apartment and drop off his sealing scroll of items before heading to the hospital himself.

He'd barely made it to his dingy little apartment before his clone dispelled, informing him that Tsunade was already at the hospital.

'_Kay, that makes this easier.'_

Shizune really needed to work on her detection skills, because Naruto had been sitting on the roof right behind her for almost ten minutes now.

He'd arrived in time to catch Tsunade and her two apprentice's walking out onto the balcony, and Naruto had taken up a spot on the roof of the hospital to listen in. Now, Naruto hadn't expected Sakura to notice him, but he'd thought Shizune was a Jounin… yet the woman hadn't picked up on his presence yet during the entire ad-hoc debriefing Sakura was giving them.

Shizune was starting to argue against Naruto going on the mission to intercept this spy of Sasori's…

It was kinda funny that she thought she could stop him from going.

He was the best person for this mission, regardless of the possibility of it being an Akatsuki trap.

Tsunade had obviously noticed him, he hadn't tried _that _hard to conceal his presence, and even if he _had_ there was still a good chance the Slug Sannin would've noticed him, "Well, now that you've heard all of that, what do you have to say Naruto?"

Really, Naruto hadn't been paying that much attention to the argument, but he could fake it, "Mm. I think Team Kakashi _should _do this mission, we'd need some pretty specific backup to ensure mission success… but we're the best team for this all considered."

Naruto startled the two younger kunoichi when he dropped off the rooftop to stand between them, "Personally, I'd want a Hyuuga in addition to one of our elite Jounin to replace Kakashi. Preferably a ranged specialist, a Hyuuga, Sakura, and myself would all be close combat specialists, we'd need ranged support."

The respectful yet amused smile Tsunade gave Naruto made the teen's heart soar, but the touching moment was interrupted by the voice of an older woman, "Tsunade."

Naruto didn't recognize the fancily dressed woman with her hair in a bun, but she looked kinda familiar, "I would like to speak with you…" the woman's squinty eyes glanced over at Naruto for a fraction of a second before returning to Tsunade, "Come."

Naruto scowled slightly at the woman and voiced his thoughts, "Hey, who are you to order the Hokage around?" He kept his tone vaguely respectful just in case, but didn't bother keeping the accusation out of his voice.

To his annoyance, the older woman just ignored him and it was Shizune that answered in a harsh whisper as if the old woman couldn't hear, "Naruto-kun! This is Utatane Koharu-sama! She's a member of the council!"

Naruto gave an eloquent grunt, telling them just how much he cared about _that_, "Neh, it's about me isn't it? This stupid meeting?"

Koharu gave him a glare that Naruto interpreted as a yes, "Then I should be in on it, the only person that knows what I'm really capable of is Jiraiya-san, and he's not here. If you seriously want to make an informed decision about me then you can't just leave me out of it."

The old bat looked ready to disagree, but Tsunade stepped in, "He has a point Honored Council-member, if the meeting _is _about him then in order to make the best decisions we must have all of the information." The Slug Sannin sounded very smug, probably happy to get one in over the distasteful woman in front of them.

Koharu's face, already looking like she was sucking on a lemon, got even sourer, "He is quite capable of giving a report on his capabilities to read over during the meeting, the presence of a Gennin is not necessary."

'_Oh great, one of those pompous ones that thinks the world revolves around them and their wants,' _Naruto knew how to deal with one of these, "Ah, but no good shinobi puts _everything _they can do down on paper, without Jiraiya-san here, I'm the only person available that can evaluate my usefulness in various tactical situations," Naruto bowed just enough to be respectful, "My presence is required if the Hokage is to make any real decisions on my tactical usefulness, Honored Council Member."

"_I do believe you've made her angry Sire," _Gnarl sounded horribly amused.

"_Good."_

Despite his overly posh surroundings, Naruto was unaffected, his attention almost entirely on the two old council-members sitting on the couch across from him and Tsunade. Neither of them looked particularly pleased with Naruto's presence, apparently neither of them wanted Naruto privy to their plans for him and were doing their best to ignore him.

Well too damn bad.

Koharu and Homura could kiss his ass, it didn't matter if they were the teammates of Sandaime-ojii-san or not, he _was _going to be Hokage and they'd better get used to it now.

Naruto relaxed into the couch beside Tsunade-oba-chan with Maelstrom laid across his lap while Shizune stood behind them.

Koharu spoke, "You see, we have been previously consulted by Shizune."

Both blondes glanced at the brunette behind them before returning their attention to the council-members.

The old man continued, treating Naruto as if he wasn't even there, "Do not send Naruto on missions that have the possibility of contact with the Akatsuki. Furthermore, a four man team of high ranking shinobi to guard over and supervise him to ensure his safety."

"_Sire… isn't this Hokage position supposed to be one of absolute authority?"_

Naruto's face darkened, _"Yes… it is Gnarl."_

"Also," Koharu was picking up from there, "You should decrease his amount of missions as much as possible and restrict the range of his movements… for his safety," Ah, so they weren't _completely _ignoring his presence.

A moment passed and they seemed to be done giving orders for now, so Naruto decided to speak up, "That's retarded."

Both of the old farts glared at him, even Tsunade-oba-chan did a bit, though hers was more amused, but Naruto continued with as serious a look as he could muster, "You're essentially telling the only person in the village that is capable of fighting the Akatsuki to sit on his ass and twiddle his thumbs."

"You presume yourself to be stronger than you are _Gennin_," Naruto's blue eyes slid to Koharu before he turned to face her.

Said Gennin gave the councilwoman a hard look, "No, I do not. I am putting what I know myself to be capable of compared to both Kakashi and Jiraiya-san."

Koharu's eyes narrowed, but Naruto's hand shot up for silence, "No. Hear me out. Kakashi is the elite of the elite, but I am perfectly capable of holding my own against him even without the Kyuubi's chakra. During my trip with Jiraiya-san, I gained the ability to safely call on three tails of the Kyuubi's power indefinitely, with that power, I would tear through Kakashi like a kunai through tissue paper."

Naruto let his hand settle back on Maelstrom's black blade as he continued, "Kakashi, for all his skill and the sharingan, would be hard pressed to beat any Akatsuki we know of. Now, I'm going to point out every person loyal to Konoha that could _seriously_ beat Kakashi that I am aware of."

He pointed at the blonde Hokage beside him, "One," his finger turned till it pointed at himself, "Two," his eyes bored into the council members across from him, "And Jiraiya-san makes three."

Naruto leaned back into the couch, letting the two elders absorb that before he continued, "I'm not saying I shouldn't be defended. I agree that as a Jinchuuriki, I should be kept out of the Akatsuki's hands. Having a ranking Hyuuga nearby at all times would be a welcome bodyguard, as well as a Jounin that specializes in ranged attacks to compensate for my deficiencies in that area."

The elders were glaring at him, but he was talking sense and they knew it, so he continued, "Restricting my movements and missions is like putting your best kunai on the shelf and locking it up. I doubt there are many Konoha shinobi that can match me in power or even overall ability when the Kyuubi's power is taken into account."

"We _are_ making concessions here," Homura glared at Naruto through his glasses, "_Normally, _as a Jinchuuriki you would not even be allowed to leave the village."

This made Naruto scowl slightly at the man, "_Normally _there isn't an organization of S-ranked criminals attempting to capture Jinchuuriki that are willing to attack a village to do so."

Both council members glared at him, but Tsunade backed him up, "Naruto is right, even if we kept Naruto here, it would just draw the Akatsuki to Konoha the same way Gaara did for Suna."

Homura shook his head, "All the more reason to guard him then to prevent just that."

"**Exactly.**"

Everyone turned to the armored teen, "You don't seem to understand. I'm not saying don't _guard _me, I'm saying don't restrict my movements. _Regardless _of what we do, the Akatsuki are going to come after me. So _prepare_ me for them!" Passion burned in his blue eyes even as he sat, "For all my raw power, I don't always know what I'm up against or have any warning before an attack, so give me a Hyuuga guard! Those white eyes can see an Akatsuki pair coming miles away no matter where we are! I have _few_ ranged attacks, so assign me a ranged attack specialist to compensate!"

The smile on Naruto's face was dark and serious, "Where I am weak, assign someone strong. With a team like that, I could _guarantee _that the team could defeat or escape _any _pair in the Akatsuki. We could accomplish _any _mission. Even this one."

Naruto tilted his head down, letting his eyes fall into shadow, "Orochimaru is one of the greatest threats to Konoha out there; he attacked us once _just _to prove he could. Now, the time is approaching where he could have the sharingan. That man is terrifying enough as it is, can we truly risk him getting such a dangerous bloodline? We must take any chance to infiltrate his village and retrieve Sasuke."

"I don't pretend to be strong enough to take on Orochimaru as I am, but I _am _strong enough to keep him from getting his hands on Sasuke," Naruto's voice darkened, "One way, or another."

Dragging himself out of more morbid thoughts, Naruto continued, "Sakura and I have the best chances of peacefully returning Sasuke to Konoha… and I am one of the most powerful shinobi here aside from the Sannin. If I must, I can kill Sasuke to keep Orochimaru from getting his hands on him."

Naruto met the eyes of the council members, "As a Jinchuuriki, I was made to be a weapon. As the container of the Kyuubi, I am a shield. But as a shinobi of Konoha, I was _born _to protect this village, _please, _let me do that."

There was a moment, just a moment, where the elders actually _believed _in the young Jinchuuriki. They believed he would stop Orochimaru, that he would never let the Akatsuki touch him That he _would_ win.

But that moment was gone in an instant, washed away by cold hard logic, Koharu turning towards the Hokage, "Tsunade, do you support this… risky, decision?"

Naruto turned, half afraid that his oba-chan wouldn't let him go, placing his safety higher than his usefulness.

He needn't have worried, the woman smirked at the council members, "Completely. Naruto is a much greater asset to Konoha out in the field than sitting around here."

Homura sighed, obviously resigned to the course of action even as Koharu 'harumphed' just a bit, "Understood… do what you want if you are truly convinced. However…" the elder man's eyes hardened, "We will choose a member to add to the four-man team."

"Five then."

Once again, everyone looked at the armored teen, who explained, "I'm agreed if it's a five-man team, at least for this mission. A Hyuuga, an offensive ninjutsu specialist, Sakura, your pick, and myself. I want to know that all of my bases combat-wise are covered regardless of who you pick."

The group of elder ninja all shared a glance before Tsunade nodded, "Alright… agreed."

The Koharu nodded, "Danzo. Enter!"

A brief scowl crossed Naruto's face as he turned towards the door behind him, _"Danzo…?"_

"_Ah…! The Minions are looking right now Sire!"_

"… you," Tsunade was _not _happy to see this guy, whoever he was. _"Gnarl, make note, dangerous."_

"_Right Sire."_

The ugly-ass older man that had stepped into the room had his forehead and right eye bandaged up and a tarp… thing covering his right arm. He ignored Naruto completely in favor of Tsunade, which, while annoying, was kinda justified seeing as she was the Hokage.

"It's been a while, Tsunade-hime."

"If you're here… that means that the new member is from the ROOT division of ANBU…"

"_ROOT? Damn, I've never heard of that. I'm going to have to ask Tsunade-oba-chan about that later, Gnarl?"_

"_Cataloguing it now Sire."_

"Yes, he is."

"Mm," that was not Tsunade's happy sound, Naruto knew. It was the same kind of sound she made when she was completely out of sake or some-such. But the armored teen held off commenting as this Danzo walked into the room and Tsunade settled back into her seat.

Silence reigned for several long minutes, no one spoke as Danzo went to stand in front of the window, cane in hand, the two council members kept sitting ruler straight, Tsunade had slouched over in her seat propping her elbows on her knees, Naruto had slouched back into the couch, letting Maelstrom balance on his lap. Shizune was the only person obviously uncomfortable with the situation, shifting uneasily from one foot to the other.

Of course, it was Shizune that spoke up, "W-We still need to decide on the other two team members… and the team will have to leave by tomorrow…"

Naruto noted the slight surprise in the jerk of Danzo's head, hadn't the man been listening in? "… well then, a leader should be selected from the elite ANBU under the control of the Hokage."

Tsunade scowled slightly even as Koharu nodded, "Indeed! That would be fine."

"_As if your opinion mattered you old hag! Bah!"_

"_Agreed Gnarl," _"That seems perfectly reasonable," Naruto sent a tight smile Tsunade's way, "I'm positive oba-chan will pick the perfect person for the job." He really meant _'I know you'll keep these people from screwing me over too much.'_

Tsunade nodded slightly at Naruto and gave him a small smile of her own, "Thanks for the vote of confidence Naruto… but what about the other team member?" Her chocolate eyes flicked to Danzo as she asked and Naruto had a pretty good idea what she meant.

"Oh, I have an idea who I want, I just need to know, to what rank am I allowed to requisition someone?" _'Let's see this Danzo guy puzzle _that _one out!'_

Tsunade and the council elders seriously considered the question to the point that Homura asked the Hokage, "Can we spare a Jounin?"

The Hokage seriously considered this a moment before looking back at Shizune, "_Can_ we?"

Shizune was already pondering that very subject, but after a couple seconds shook her head slowly, "No… I'm pretty sure our only H-" Tsunade's eyebrow twitched, "Jounins that fill the position Naruto's requested are either going to be needed for a solo mission or are already _on _missions…"

Tsunade scowled for a moment before turning back to Naruto, "Do you know of anyone of the appropriate rank?"

'_Hyuuga below Jounin? Yeah, I've got an idea.'_ Naruto kept his face straight as he nodded, "Yeah, though I might need a requisition order…"

She nodded and pulled a pen and piece of paper out of her jacket, quickly scribbling out a (surprisingly) legible personnel requisition form that she handed to Naruto, "There, you can pull one person of Special Jounin or lower if they're in the village, I'll have your new squad leader meet you at the West Gate at six A.M. sharp. I expect to be updated on who you're taking as well as soon as possible."

Naruto nodded, taking the paper and folding it, a thought passed through his head and he had to keep the grin off his face, "Neh, Danzo, where will I be able to find your agent?"

The man turned the right side of his head towards them, and Naruto had a feeling it wasn't as blind a side as the bandages implied, "…Sai will find you."

"_I do believe he doesn't want you to find out where his base of operations is Sire."_

"_Why, you just might be right Gnarl," _"Ah, well could you tell me who to look for?" Naruto kept his voice intentionally cheery, if Danzo hadn't been listening in enough to hear about needing the Hyuuga, then he wasn't likely to have heard Naruto get serious, as such, the man was almost certainly expecting a blonde idiot, let him keep thinking that, "I don't want to accidentally brush off my new teammate!"

"Mng," Danzo turned back to the window, and Naruto pondered the sound he'd made as he waited several seconds for his answer.

It wasn't the Uchiha 'Hn', the non-sound grunt thing that could be surprisingly emotional and eloquent in the right hands. Nor was it the 'Mm' Naruto himself favored when playing his role as 'Powerful and Uncaring Overlord' to the Minions. It was this grunt sound that had been cut off in the back of the man's throat and silenced by a tightening of his lips, thus, Naruto quantified it as 'Mng'. It conveyed a considerable displeasure with the world in general and Naruto specifically quite well, but did not seem to have the versatility of 'Hn' or 'Mm'.

Danzo started speaking again after a four second pause, just long enough to be insulting, but not long enough to give obvious room for interruption in polite company, "He has black hair, black eyes and very pale skin."

There was a definite tone of dismissal at the end of his sentence, but Naruto, playing the oblivious idiot and doing so just to rub the fact that the man had no real authority over him (at least he was pretty sure he didn't), Naruto stayed in his seat for almost twenty seconds, staring eagerly at the butt-ugly man.

Eventually, Danzo turned his head again and growled out, "You will know him when you see him."

The grin that spread across Naruto's face was genuine, mostly because he was happy to have irritated the man, if Tsunade was automatically wary about him, then so was Naruto, "Alright! See ya later!" He shot up out of his seat, intentionally keeping an annoying look on his face as he swung Maelstrom up onto his shoulder.

It was actually harder to pretend to be only _kinda _good at something when you were actually really good at it. Naruto had to work at appearing unskilled with Maelstrom as he swung it up onto his shoulder, barely missing the small coffee table between the couches and Danzo himself only a few feet away.

But the obvious disdain on Danzo's face and very brief curious one on Tsunade's before she carefully schooled her features was worth it.

This guy was assuming that Naruto was an idiot, apparently he hadn't read the new reports on him yet. With any luck, his little display here would make this Danzo dismiss any reports of calculated and intelligent moves on Naruto's part as luck or hearsay until it was far too late.

Ah, the benefits of a carefully crafted mask.

**A.N.-) **Right! Again, sorry about the delays on this and the relative lack of length. People have been starting to ask me about whether this has been dropped or not.

_**It isn't.**_

I'm struggling to write it, I never really planned the next part of this out very well and was straining my brain to try and write it… so there might be another delay (not one of that size again thankfully) in getting the next part up. But I'll do my best.

For SCIENCE!!!

Ja ne,

Andoriol


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